At least 950 miners trapped underground at Beatrix gold mine
About 40 workers have been brought back to the surface at the Sibanye-Stillwater gold mine in the Free State, union Amcu says
About 950 workers are trapped underground at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Beatrix gold mine in the Free State, after an overnight power failure cause by a lightning strike. Rescue efforts are under way, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) said on Thursday afternoon. At least 40 workers had been brought back to the surface at the gold mine, with 950 miners still below ground at 3 Shaft at Beatrix, the union said. Sibanye said a power pylon had been knocked over during a storm on Wednesday night, cutting power to 4 Shaft and the main Beatrix operations of 2 and 3 Shafts. Power had since been restored to 4 Shaft and people hauled to surface. Power was restored to 2 Shaft and workers were hoisted to the surface there on Thursday. Sibanye wanted 950 workers at 3 Shaft to wait there until the winder serving the shaft was back in working order, rather than have hundreds of people walking for four hours to 2 Shaft, said company spokesperson James Wellsted. No one had been ...
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