(BSS/AFP) - The collapse of an informal gold mine in Guinea has killed at least 11 people and left others missing, rescue workers and local sources told AFP on Tuesday.

The accident took place on Monday at an artisanal mine in the northeast of the country.

"At least eleven people have lost their lives, four others were injured and several are still reported missing," a local Red Cross official told AFP on Tuesday.

On the ground, search operations were under way on Tuesday, the official said, to try to find survivors or other victims buried under the rubble.

This provisional toll was confirmed by a security source present at the scene.

The death toll could still rise, a local official told AFP, and the search is continuing in difficult conditions due to rain and a lack of equipment.

The authorities have reinforced the security perimeter around the site to facilitate rescue operations and maintain order at the scene.

Deadly accidents in artisanal mines are regularly reported in Guinea, where miners take considerable risks, without any protection, in the hope of finding gold.