Photos: South African gold mine collapses, trapping more than 100 miners
Fri Feb 05, 2016 12:58:pm Africa
3K By sosa hills
A gold mine in eastern South Africa partially collapsed on Friday, trapping dozens. Rescuers had managed to pull out around 80 people, but about 35 remained underground, a mine workers' union said.
A spokesman for the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) initially said around 115 of its members were "unaccounted for" after offices at Goldfields Lily Mine in Barberton, 224 miles east of Johannesburg, "tragically caved-in" at 8.40am (local time) on Friday.
Mike McChesney, chief executive of the small gold producer Vantage Goldfields, said most of the trapped 87 workers had been brought to the surface.
The firm said three people remained unaccounted for as rescuers continued to search for those missing.
There were no reports of any fatalities, and paramedics at the scene said those rescued had not suffered serious injuries.
Trapped miners were brought to the surface through ventilation shafts, the Barberton Times reported.
"We have sent some of our own staff underground to try and come in from behind that area to see whether there are any survivors from that building who may have been able to crawl out and into one or two of the old tunnels," he told the paper.
He said rescue workers were in touch with those that remain trapped as lists were being checked to find out who was scheduled to work today.
There were some reports that a sinkhole was believed to have caused the collapse.
Vantage Goldfields is an Australia-based company mining gold at Barberton.
The union said it wanted criminal charges to be brought against the owners and management should a probe reveal negligence was involved in the collapse.
South Africa, which has several gold, platinum, diamond and coal pits, has been dogged by several mining accidents recently.
Four miners were killed in an underground fire in a platinum mine near Johannesburg, last month.
A spokesman for the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) initially said around 115 of its members were "unaccounted for" after offices at Goldfields Lily Mine in Barberton, 224 miles east of Johannesburg, "tragically caved-in" at 8.40am (local time) on Friday.
Mike McChesney, chief executive of the small gold producer Vantage Goldfields, said most of the trapped 87 workers had been brought to the surface.
The firm said three people remained unaccounted for as rescuers continued to search for those missing.
There were no reports of any fatalities, and paramedics at the scene said those rescued had not suffered serious injuries.
Trapped miners were brought to the surface through ventilation shafts, the Barberton Times reported.
"We have sent some of our own staff underground to try and come in from behind that area to see whether there are any survivors from that building who may have been able to crawl out and into one or two of the old tunnels," he told the paper.
He said rescue workers were in touch with those that remain trapped as lists were being checked to find out who was scheduled to work today.
There were some reports that a sinkhole was believed to have caused the collapse.
Vantage Goldfields is an Australia-based company mining gold at Barberton.
The union said it wanted criminal charges to be brought against the owners and management should a probe reveal negligence was involved in the collapse.
South Africa, which has several gold, platinum, diamond and coal pits, has been dogged by several mining accidents recently.
Four miners were killed in an underground fire in a platinum mine near Johannesburg, last month.
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