Eighteen people have been killed after an illegal gold mine collapse in remote central Indonesia, a search and rescue official says.

The collapse occurred before noon on Saturday in west Borneo, in a hilly area where illegal gold mining is rampant, the official said.

• Mexico shaken by 5.4-magnitude quake

“We conducted a search operation last night, but we have stopped the operation now as we have found all of the bodies reported to be missing,” said local rescue official Leonardus Sabar Umbara.

Sixteen victims were male, including a 17-year-old, while two others were female, Umbara added.

Illegal gold mining has boomed in Indonesia in recent years as the price of the precious metal has surged, and deaths are common.

In July, a landslide killed nine men at an illegal gold mine in remote Papua province.