HARARE: At least 23 illegal gold miners were feared dead in Zimbabwe on Thursday after water flooded two disused shafts in a mining town 145 km south-west of the capital Harare. Rescuers were trying to use pumps to extract water in the search for survivors and bodies at the site near the town of Kadoma. "We heard from their colleagues that at least 23 people are trapped in the mine shaft which was flooded by water from a dam wall which burst due to heavy rains on Tuesday night," Wilson Gwatiringa, spokesman for mining company.