70 trapped Canadian miners safe: Reports

The miners were trapped deep underground on Sunday after a fire in potash mine in a western Canadian province.

Seventy miners who were trapped deep underground on Sunday after a fire in potash mine in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan, are safe and sound, a mine spokesman said.

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All of the trapped miners, who took refuge in special safety rooms inside the mine, should be able to emerge once the smoke has cleared, the Mosaic Company mine's spokesman, Marshall Hamilton, told Canadian television.

Rescue workers who went down found 30 of the miners in one of the refuge stations, he added.

"In those refuge stations, the workers can seal themselves in with enough oxygen and food and water to be comfortable for the next 36 hours at least," said Hamilton.

The fire broke out at 3:00 am at the mine near Esterhazy, east of Regina. The miners were trapped about one kilometer underground, media reported.

Mosaic is based in the US city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.