Manila  - Rescuers recovered overnight four dead bodies of miners trapped inside a flooded mineshaft in the northern Philippines, ending a frantic 10-day search and rescue operation, a regional police chief said Thursday.

Rescuers recovered two dead bodies before dawn on Thursday while two more bodies had been recovered late Wednesday from the shaft in Itogon town in Bengue province, 225 kilometres south of Manila, Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin said.

Martin said the recovery of the four bodies brought to six the total number of fatalities in the accident while 10 other miners were rescued alive.

The 16 miners entered the tunnel on September 22, at the height of a powerful typhoon that brought heavy rains which triggered flooding inside the mineshaft.

Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan said he was seeking an investigation into reports that the 16 miners had illegally entered the abandoned mineshaft.

Fongwan said the 10 survivors were being treated at a hospital in nearby Baguio City and a 10,000 pesos (214.13 dollars) assistance were given to the families of the victims. (dpa)