The bodies of 6 miners were recovered almost 24 hours after a tunnel collapsed in a coal mine in the northern province of Samangan on Tuesday, leaving at least 12 workers unaccounted for, officials said Wednesday.

The incident happened at around 11:00 am on Tuesday in Shabashak coalmine in Dara-e-Soof, which is a major coal-providing area.

People at the scene said they went 600 meters deep to recover the bodies: “We pulled out six people --four of them were already dead and two others died outside the mine.”

A group of engineers from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum is also in the area but “they are not going inside the mine,” according to the people.

The local resident said that the victims are between 22 and 35-years-old.

Efforts are still being made to reach the trapped miners.

“Possibly 11 to 12 people are trapped inside the mine and we are continuing our efforts,” said Sultan Ali Sultani, district governor.

Police said they heard an explosion in one of the tunnels before it collapsed.

Residents of the area claimed that the team sent to the area is "not professional enough" to be helpful in rescuing the trapped workers.