One person was killed in clashes between police and thousands of villagers who stormed a gold mine in Tanzania operated by a subsidiary of Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold, police said on Saturday.

Around 2,000 people armed with machetes, stones and hammers raided the North Mara mine in northern Tanzania on Friday looking to seize its gold, said local police chief Justus Kamugisha.

Clashes broke out with police guarding the mine that left one attacker dead and a policemen wounded, he told AFP.

Television images of the incident showed men and women picking up rocks inside the mine, then scattering as police fired tear gas.

Clashes are common between local residents and security officers at the mine owned by African Barrick Gold -- in which Barrick Gold, the world's top gold producer, holds a majority stake.

Police say five people were killed there in May 2011 during clashes between police and hundreds of villagers. In May 2012, security officers at the mine killed a man while fending off another raid.