3,200 Trapped Workers Freed at S. African Mine
No Serious Injuries Reported; Union Calls for Improved Safety
The elation of the rescue quickly gave way to talk of a possible strike over safety worries at the mine.
(Schalk Van Zuydam - AP)
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Friday, October 5, 2007
JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 4 -- A gold mine accident that trapped 3,200 workers more than a mile underground ended late Thursday with no serious injuries as exhausted but jubilant miners were gradually hoisted to the surface in an auxiliary elevator.
Three miners were taken to a hospital and treated for exhaustion, a spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers said. He attributed the accident to a round-the-clock work schedule and poor maintenance and said a strike was possible if safety problems were not fixed.
"They have to do it, and they have to do it now," said Shane Choshane, the spokesman.
The incident began Wednesday when a 50-foot pressurized pipe broke and fell to the bottom of the mine shaft, according to an account posted on the Web site of Harmony Gold Mining, which owns the mine in Carletonville, southwest of Johannesburg. The falling pipe caused extensive damage to the shaft's steel infrastructure and severed electrical lines, including those to the mine's main elevator.
The miners had access to oxygen and water throughout the ordeal, but not food. A rescue mission relying on a smaller elevator began slowly hauling them out of the mine early Thursday. Paramedics entered the mine with medical supplies soon after the auxiliary elevator became operational.
The rescued miners appeared dazed but largely unharmed, according to news reports. Some broke into traditional songs, but others vented their frustrations.
"We nearly died down there," one man yelled to reporters at the scene, according to the Associated Press. "I'd rather leave than die in the mine."
Government officials joined the National Union of Mineworkers in criticizing the safety standards at the mine and announced that an investigation would start Friday. The mine is expected to remain closed for at least a week.
Harmony Gold officials said they had been managing the mine safely. But the company's chairman, Patrice Motsepe, told the South African Press Association, "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."
