UPDATE: Miner Dies After Being Trapped In Mine
On Saturday, another miner was rescued but declared dead once brought to the surface. This follows an incident on Friday morning when a tremor measuring 1.2 on the Richter scale caused sections of the gold mine to collapse.
About 3 000 miners were working at the time of the tremor but all apart from the five managed to get to safety.
THE second miner trapped in the Kusasalethu mine near Carletonville has died, Harmony Gold said on Sunday. “A second miner…has been brought to surface. Regrettably, he succumbed to his injuries,” the mine’s Chief Executive Officer, Peter Steenkamp said.
“Three employees remain unaccounted for and rescue efforts will continue until they have been found,” said Steenkamp.
“Our efforts continue to focus on reaching our colleagues as quickly and safely as possible,” said Peter Steenkamp.
The three are trapped 3.1km below the surface. Compressed air is being pumped into the shaft in which they are thought to be trapped in order to keep the miners alive.