Three of five trapped workers at Codelco's El Teniente copper mine have been found dead, the company said, as rescue teams work to clear underground passages that collapsed in a strong tremor last week.

Rescuers have recovered the bodies of four miners and are searching for two more after an earthquake caused a partial collapse at El Teniente mine last week.

Chilean state-owned copper giant Codelco confirmed Saturday that rescue teams at its flagship El Teniente mine have recovered the remains of a second trapped miner, raising the death toll from Thursdays collapse to