Rescue operations were ongoing at a Tanzanian mine which collapsed three days ago, burying at least 25 people, the country's President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Thursday.

The accident on Monday occurred as maintenance was being conducted at the Nyandolwa gold mine in northwestern Shinyanga Region, roughly 200 kilometres north of the capital, Dodoma.

In a statement posted on X, Hassan said that "25 of our compatriots working at the mine were buried under debris."

She expressed her "great sadness" over the accident, and said that security agencies would assist emergency service providers to "expedite the ongoing rescue operation."

Tragic incidents

Shinyanga Regional Commissioner Mboni Mhita urged for patience.

"Nobody expected this accident to happen, let's remain calm and continue supporting rescue efforts," she said at the scene.

"The buried people were conducting maintenance in the shafts," she said.

In January last year, 22 miners died in a landslide at another gold mine in the north of the country, after it was hit by torrential rain.

And in January 2017, 15 people were rescued after being trapped underground for two days after their mine collapsed.