ACCRA, April 18 (Reuters) - Nine illegal gold miners, six of them women, were killed in Ghana this week when the abandoned pit they were working in collapsed, police said on Wednesday.

Nine bodies were recovered from the pit which caved in on Monday near Wassa Akropong in the Western Region of Ghana, Africa's second biggest gold producer after South Africa.

"It is an illegal operation. It collapsed, they got trapped inside," said Western Region Police Commander Kofi Arthur, who added that one person survived the accident.

Between 300,000 and 500,000 small-scale artisanal miners, known locally as galamsey, are estimated to be working in Ghana. Pit accidents and cave-ins at unsupervised sites are common.

Monday's accident occurred not far from a legal concession operated by U.S.-based Golden Star Resources Ltd., which sent a rescue team to the collapsed pit.

Some galamsey are legally registered and have their own concessions. But most work illegally on or near the concessions of large foreign gold companies, often in makeshift pits where they use hammers and chisels to hack out gold-bearing ore.

In recent months, authorities have moved to evict illegal miners from legal concessions held by big mining companies.

In December, four people were shot and wounded at the mining town of Prestea during an eviction operation.

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