Seventh body of missing miners found underground in Burkina Faso

The lifeless body of one of the eight miners trapped underground since April 16 in a zinc mine in Burkina Faso was found Wednesday, making seven the number of dead found, the Burkinabe government announced.

"It has been confirmed by the competent services that a seventh body has indeed been found," a government statement said, adding that the search "is continuing to find the last body.

Earlier, government spokesman Lionel Bilgo had announced the discovery of the eighth body, before changing his mind, explaining that the authorities of the Perkoa mine who had passed on the information had been "mistaken".

The eight miners - six Burkinabe, one Zambian and one Tanzanian - were trapped on 16 April at the bottom of this mine west of Ouagadougou and operated by the Canadian company Trevali Mining, after heavy rains flooded the underground galleries where they were working 700 metres below ground.

On 28 May, the bodies of two miners were found 43 days after their disappearance at a depth of 580 metres.

Four days earlier, four other miners were found.

The nationality of the deceased miners has not yet been established, according to the government.

Since their disappearance, no contact had been established with them, but rescuers had long hoped that they had taken shelter in a "refuge chamber" located 580 metres below the surface, where survival kits containing water, food and medicine are usually stored.