Rescuers searching for survivors in northern Tanzania's flooded tanzanite mine have retrieved 10 new bodies, bringing the total number to 16 recovered since early Saturday when water swept the mine.

"So far we have recovered 16 bodies. We are continuing with the operation to look for more bodies," Venance Tossi, the police commissioner who was commanding the operation, told AFP.

Mine owners ruled out chances of finding any survivors.
  
"There are 66 miners missing and still trapped underground in the pits," said state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) radio, quoting the owners.
  
"There is no hope of finding anybody alive because it is their third day underground," the radio said.
  
Mike Temi, one of the owners, confirmed that 66 people were missing as of Monday morning.

 

"My husband is still down there. There are also two brothers-in-law of mine. All I want is to find their bodies" Rosa Manka, wife of one of the miners

Jakaya Kikwete, the Tanzanian president, due to travel to the  disaster area, said he was "shocked" to hear of the accident and the growing death toll.
  
Officials gave diverging counts of the number of miners who escaped or were rescued from the pits, where thousands dig to find  the precious purple-blue mineral named after the country.
  
State radio, quoting the mine owners, said 93 people close to  the surface escaped the flooding. Other officials said 35 escaped.

 

Philip Marmo, state minister at the prime minister's office in charge of disaster response, said the government had approached the army for assistance with the rescue effort.

 

Rescuers hired
  
Mizengo Pinda, the prime minister, said $0.4m had been allocated and 80 additional rescuers hired to bolster the operation.
  
Relatives of those missing gathered at the mine but held out little hope of anyone being brought out alive.
  
"My husband is still down there. There are also two brothers-in-law of mine. All I want is to find their bodies," said  Rosa Manka, a young woman, sobbing as two aunts supported her.
  
In June 2002, at least 39 tanzanite miners died after inhaling carbon monoxide produced from a dynamite explosion, one of the many  fatal accidents linked to mining in Tanzania.