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.

Rescue teams have found a body inside a section of a Chilean copper mine that collapsed during a moderate earthquake.