COLOMBIAN authorities said toay that they had given up hope of finding alive any miners trapped under 100 feet of heavy debris after a gold mine collapsed.

“I pray to God for survivors but it’s impossible,” said Eduardo Grijalba, mayor of the rural town of Santander de Quilichao where the tragedy took place on Wednesday night.

Mayor Grijalba is pleading with President Juan Manuel Santos to help end illegal mining in the town after failed efforts by local authorities to shut down the pit that collapsed.

Rescue workers using sniffer dogs have recovered the bodies of 10 miners but four others are still missing.

Miners had been working with hand tools to extract gold from the open-cast mine when it was hit by an avalanche of mud and rock.

The mine employed local men and women, but neither the workers nor the facility were properly certified, officials said.