"It is an abandoned pit that has attracted a lot of illegal miners, " said Mr Owusu-Ashia.

BBC: Ghana gold mine collapse kills 16

The ground caved in at an abandoned pit near the town of Kyekyewere that was said to be popular with illegal miners.

BBC: Ghana gold mine collapse kills 16

"The government of Peru rejects the acts of violence by the illegal miners in Madre de Dios and asks the regional authorities and the general public to support the work of the police to re-establish order and peace in that jurisdiction, " the government said in a statement.

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Humala's government has made a push for illegal mines and miners in Peru to be formalized and regulated so that risks decrease.

CNN: Peru: Nine miners rescued after six days underground

Mining fatalities at major companies are relatively rare in Indonesia, though each year dozens of illegal and independent miners are killed in accidents, often landslides.

WSJ: Indonesian Mine Death Toll Rises, Miners Still Trapped

Police in Ghana have arrested the owner of an illegal gold mine which collapsed on Sunday after heavy rains, burying large numbers of miners.

BBC: Illegal Ghana gold mine owner arrested after collapse

"Botnet mining is fundamentally theft of private property, illegal and unethical, " Jeff Garzik, a bitcoin developer told the BBC, adding that bitcoin miners had battled botnets for years, seeing them as a "cost and a burden" they just had to deal with.

BBC: Bitcoin miners hit back at cyber-thieves