The bodies of thirteen people were found in a mine in Peru on Sunday after they were abducted a few days earlier.

The grim discovery was made in a gold mine in Peru's Pataz province in the northern La Libertad region, situated around 560 miles (900 kilometers) from the capital Lima.

Mining is a key economic sector for Peru which is one of South America's major producers of gold.

Victims discovered tied up

The mayor of Pataz, Aldo Carlos Marino, told broadcaster Canal N that the victims who were both miners and security guards, were found tied up in a pit.

"This morning, after intense search efforts, the police rescue team was able to recover the bodies of the 13 workers who were kidnapped [...] by illegal miners in collusion with criminal elements," mining company Poderosa said in a statement.

The victims had worked for a service provider used by Poderosa, a major gold mining outfit that has been targeted by armed groups involved in illegal mining operations.

Government launches probe after wave of violence

The area the mine is located in has been under a state of emergency for more than two years due to ongoing violence and unrest.

"The spiral of uncontrolled violence in Pataz is occurring despite the declaration of a state of emergency and the presence of a large police contingent which, unfortunately, has not been able to halt the deterioration of security conditions in the area," Poderosa said.

Peru's Interior Ministry said organized crime investigators had been deployed to probe the deaths and warned that its agents "are fully empowered to use their firearms if the circumstances warrant it."

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher