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Ammon News - At least 27 workers have died in a fire at a gold mine in a remote area of southern Peru, authorities said Sunday, making it one of the worst mining tragedies in the South American country's recent history.

Police and the public prosecutor's office confirmed that the fire, which engulfed a tunnel inside the La Esperanza 1 mine in the Arequipa region, was caused by a short circuit.

Public prosecutor Giovanni Matos told channel N television that there were "27 dead inside the mine."

Local media said earlier that the blaze started after an explosion at the mine in the remote Condesuyos province, a 10-hour drive from the city of Arequipa, the regional capital.

The explosion ignited the wooden supports inside the mine in the town of Yanaquihua.

The victims were 100 meters below ground, local media said.

News of the fire was only published Sunday once police had gathered details of those who died.

Rescue teams were trying to secure the mine before removing the victims' bodies.

There have been no reports of survivors, nor confirmation about how many people were in the mine at the time of the fire.

The incident is one of the worst mining accidents in recent years in Peru, the largest gold producer in Latin America.

"The interior and defense ministries have been working since this tragedy occurred on the recovery and transport of the bodies," said the presidency in a tweet.

France 24