ZCZC
BFF-23
SAFRICA-MINING-AFSUD-ACCIDENT
Fears for miners trapped underground in S.Africa
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Four miners trapped underground
after a tremor caused a rockfall at a mine in northeast South Africa are
feared to have been cut off from oxygen, their union said Saturday.
A fifth miner was rescued with serious injuries after the accident at the
Tau Lekoa Mine in the town of Orkney on Friday, the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) said in a statement.
But the rescue team said they lost contact with the four underground miners
at around 5:00 am (0300 GMT) on Saturday, sparking fears “they might not be
in good health,” said NUM president Joseph Montisetse.
“The last person we talked to said: ‘We are suffocating please, bring us
some oxygen’,” he added.
The rescue team “now estimates that it will take three or four days to
rescue the four mineworkers because of the massive rocks that continue to
fall underground,” said the NUM’s statement.
Deadly accidents involving miners are common in South Africa, which has the
deepest mines in the world.
Last year 81 people died in the country’s mines, according to the
department of mineral resources.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1513 hrs