Post by John on Oct 3, 2007 17:36:03 GMT -5
Just picked this up and copied it from the BBC site.
More than 3,000 stuck in SA mine
Map
More than 3,000 workers are trapped deep underground in a South African gold mine, officials have said.
A pipe broke, severing power cables to the lift and trapping workers at the bottom of a 2.2km (1.4 mile) shaft.
Rescuers are planning to use an adjacent shaft to lift them out, a spokeswoman for the mine's owner, Harmony Gold Mining, said.
The accident happened at about 1000 (0800 GMT), some 80km (50 miles) west of Johannesburg.
The spokeswoman, Amelia Soares, said no-one was injured and that the bottom of the shaft where the miners are trapped is well ventilated.
She said rescuers were in contact with the miners, and planned to begin lifting them very soon.
However, only 75 miners could be lifted out at a time through the adjacent ventilation shaft, she added.
'Poor safety record'
A spokesman for South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers said they were extremely concerned for the miners' safety.
"We are, you know, losing hope because... from six o'clock in the morning up until now the miners might actually be suffocating," Lesiba Seshoka told the BBC.
"Because of the fact that there's been a fall of ground so anything can actually happen, you know. We are just crossing our fingers that something good will come out of this."
The Elandsrand mine is in the Withingyersrand Basin, which holds the world's largest gold deposit.
The mines there are among the deepest in the world.
Mr Seshoka said South Africa's mines have a poor safety record.
More than 3,000 stuck in SA mine
Map
More than 3,000 workers are trapped deep underground in a South African gold mine, officials have said.
A pipe broke, severing power cables to the lift and trapping workers at the bottom of a 2.2km (1.4 mile) shaft.
Rescuers are planning to use an adjacent shaft to lift them out, a spokeswoman for the mine's owner, Harmony Gold Mining, said.
The accident happened at about 1000 (0800 GMT), some 80km (50 miles) west of Johannesburg.
The spokeswoman, Amelia Soares, said no-one was injured and that the bottom of the shaft where the miners are trapped is well ventilated.
She said rescuers were in contact with the miners, and planned to begin lifting them very soon.
However, only 75 miners could be lifted out at a time through the adjacent ventilation shaft, she added.
'Poor safety record'
A spokesman for South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers said they were extremely concerned for the miners' safety.
"We are, you know, losing hope because... from six o'clock in the morning up until now the miners might actually be suffocating," Lesiba Seshoka told the BBC.
"Because of the fact that there's been a fall of ground so anything can actually happen, you know. We are just crossing our fingers that something good will come out of this."
The Elandsrand mine is in the Withingyersrand Basin, which holds the world's largest gold deposit.
The mines there are among the deepest in the world.
Mr Seshoka said South Africa's mines have a poor safety record.