BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Three people were killed and at least another 15 were missing and feared dead after an illegal gold mine collapsed in southwest Colombia, authorities said Thursday.

Cauca province Gov. Temistocles Ortega said the collapse occurred shortly before midnight in a rural area near Santander de Quilichao, about 190 miles (315 kilometers) southwest of Bogota, the capital. He said illegal miners use machinery to open huge holes to extract gold, and one of the walls of a hole fell in.