MAPUTO, March 13 (Reuters) - Mozambique said on Tuesday that at least 16 Zimbabwean gold panners had died after being buried in mudslides triggered by torrential rains in the flood-ravaged southern African nation.

Other Zimbabweans who were panning for gold illegally in a mountainous area near the Mozambique-Zimbabwean border may have perished on Feb. 22 when Cyclone Favio swept through the region, officials told Radio Mozambique.

"We are yet to confirm whether others were dragged further downstream when they were panning for gold ... ," district police commander Lido Machava told the state-run broadcaster.

Machava said authorities had learned of the 16 deaths only recently because of poor communication with the remote area, where an estimated 5,000 Zimbabweans are believed to illegally pan for gold in rivers and streams.

A total of 61 people have died in the former Portuguese colony last month when heavy rains triggered flash floods along the Zambezi river and its tributaries. Some 170,000 people were forced to flee their homes.

It was the worst flooding to hit Mozambique since 2000-2001, when 700 people died and another half a million were driven from their homes.

(Writing by Paul Simao, Editing by Richard Williams; Johannesburg bureau 27 11 775 3165)

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