AROUND 3,000 workers in a gold mine near Johannesburg, in South Africa are trapped after a water pipe burst and soil in an underground shaft collapsed today.
No one from the management of Harmony Golds Elandsrand Mine in Carletonville was available to comment.
The spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers, Lesiba Seshoka, said the managers were meeting with union members.
Miners had gone down the shaft, then the water pipe burst, and they had not been heard from since about 10am, he said.
"It's a terrible situation," Seshoka said. "The only exit is blocked, probably by a fall of ground."
Gold mine shafts in South Africa are typically 3,000 meters below ground or more, he said.
The union feared the men could be trapped without oxygen because of collapsed ground, or impeded by rock falls and mud slides by the burst water pipe.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article