South Africa: Last trapped miner rescued

The last of 3,200 miners trapped for more than 24 hours in a deep mine shaft were brought to safety, ending one of South Africa’s biggest rescue operations.

The final workers emerged just after 9pm yesterday, said mine owner Harmony Gold Mining.

The miners became trapped after a pipe of pressurised air exploded and crashed into a shaft, cutting off electricity to the main lift.

There were no reports of casualties, even though the rescue operation had dragged on for longer than initially expected.

Some of those stranded more than a mile underground in the Elandsrand mine had gone down for the night shift on Tuesday.

Joyful reunions were mixed with anger, fear and renewed concern about safety standards in a country that is the world’s largest gold producer.

The trapped workers were brought to the surface in a second, smaller cage in another shaft that can hold about 75 miners at a time, about half the normal passenger capacity.

Most of the miners who emerged into the blinding sunlight earlier in the day looked dazed and exhausted.

“We nearly died down there,” one man yelled. “I’d rather leave (the job) than die in the mine.”

One large group emerged from the shaft singing traditional songs and stamping their feet with joy despite their exhaustion. They were greeted by a crowd of ululating female miners.

During the ordeal, relatives stood outside the mine’s offices, complaining that they had not been given enough information about their loved ones.

“I am very traumatised, exhausted, not knowing what is going on,” said Sam Ramohanoe, whose wife, Flora, 31, was among the trapped. “It is very unfair to us, not knowing what is going on with our beloved ones.”

The workers had been near a ventilation shaft and were given water and food.

The mine owner and South Africa’s Minerals and Energy Minister vowed to improve safety in one of the country’s most important industries after the accident prompted allegations that the industry had cut corners on safety and did not properly maintain the mine.

The union threatened unspecified “industrial action” if its safety demands were not met. In a message to mining bosses, it said it would “hit their pockets big time in the near future”.

Amelia Soares, spokeswoman for Harmony, said the mine had won a number of safety awards and had never seen any fatal accidents. She said the company was likely to suffer considerable losses in output during the closure caused by the accident.

Elandsrand, a top-producing gold mine in South Africa, will be closed for at least six weeks following the accident, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said.

Harmony chairman Patrice Motsepe said “we have to recommit ourselves to refocus on safety in this country; our safety record both as a company and an industry leave much to be desired”.

Harmony’s share price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange dropped 2.86% at close today, to 74.06 rand (£5.25). JP Morgan analyst Allan Cooke said the accident would hurt Harmony’s earnings, especially if the shaft remained closed for the entire quarter.

The Elandsrand mine is the third-largest producing gold mine in South Africa. The company said it produced an average of about 1,300lb of gold every month.