After damage to the mining shaft, 260 miners were stuck on a gold near the Gold Bani near South Africa, South Africa. The rescuers managed to free almost a third of them on Friday, writes TASR, according to reports of Reuters and AFP.
“All 260 employees are safe and have a meal,” said Sibany-Stillwater mining company in a statement. However, some miners are without food and drink for over 24 hours. “They are not trapped. It has been decided to leave them at the station under the shaft,” added.
None of the miners in the Kloof mine, about 60 kilometers west of Johannesburg, did not suffer injuries and the emergency services gradually pull them to the surface. According to the South African National Union of Miners, the incident happened on Thursday around 10.00.
Mining in South Africa employs hundreds of thousands of people. The country is the largest exporter of platinum and one of the main exporters of gold, diamonds or coal. Mining accidents are quite common and hundreds of people die every year. According to Minerals Council South Africa, 42 miners died in 2024 and 55 miners a year earlier.
