Toronto - A group of Canadian miners, trapped by a fire in a potash mine for 24 hours, were finally brought to the surface after the mine was cleared of fire and smoke, a mine official said on Monday.

The fire, which broke out at 3am (21h00GMT) early on Sunday at the mine in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, had forced 70 miners to rush to safety in refuge rooms.

It was unclear whether all 70 miners had come to the surface or just the first group.

The mine is owned by Minnesota-based Mosaic and is located near the provincial border with Manitoba.