South African S.African Miners Rescued After Quake, One Missing
10/03/2005| IslamWeb
Rescuers scoured mine shafts Thursday for a South African miner trapped hundreds of meters underground after an earthquake killed one of his workmates and injured three others.
Wednesday's magnitude 5.0 tremor caused rock falls in access tunnels, initially trapping some 40 miners at a mine run by mining company DRDGOLD, and damaged houses and shops in the nearby town of Stilfontein, about 97 miles southwest of Johannesburg.
Three remaining survivors were hauled out of the mine on stretchers Thursday morning, badly injured and covered in grime after rescuers carried them six km along damaged tunnels.
Mine officials said the search for the missing man would continue until he was found.
"We hope for the best," said Vorkel. "We have a fairly good idea where he is."
DRDGOLD evacuated more than 3,000 underground workers after the quake and called in rescue teams from across South Africa, the world's largest gold producer.
The company said one miner died in the earthquake, which jolted buildings as far away as Johannesburg.
Dozens of dazed miners, trapped since the quake hit one of the mine's eight shafts Wednesday morning, emerged into the open Thursday, some holding hands. They were examined by paramedics and taken for treatment.
Hundreds of other workers returned underground as the mine - which accounts for 60 percent of the DRDGOLD's South African operations - restarted production, although mine officials said the most affected shafts would remain closed.
FAMILIES HOMELESS
In nearby Stilfontein, 38 people suffered minor injuries and Mayor Jaycee Nxamakele said 21 families had to find alternative accommodation after apartment blocks were damaged.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude 5 and was centerd some 9 miles beneath the earth's surface -- far deeper than any mineshaft.
The last serious quake of 6.3 magnitude caused considerable damage north of Cape Town in 1969.
PHOTO CAPTION
A platinum mine in Rustenburg, South Africa. (AFP)
Rescuers scoured mine shafts Thursday for a South African miner trapped hundreds of meters underground after an earthquake killed one of his workmates and injured three others.
Wednesday's magnitude 5.0 tremor caused rock falls in access tunnels, initially trapping some 40 miners at a mine run by mining company DRDGOLD, and damaged houses and shops in the nearby town of Stilfontein, about 97 miles southwest of Johannesburg.
Three remaining survivors were hauled out of the mine on stretchers Thursday morning, badly injured and covered in grime after rescuers carried them six km along damaged tunnels.
Mine officials said the search for the missing man would continue until he was found.
"We hope for the best," said Vorkel. "We have a fairly good idea where he is."
DRDGOLD evacuated more than 3,000 underground workers after the quake and called in rescue teams from across South Africa, the world's largest gold producer.
The company said one miner died in the earthquake, which jolted buildings as far away as Johannesburg.
Dozens of dazed miners, trapped since the quake hit one of the mine's eight shafts Wednesday morning, emerged into the open Thursday, some holding hands. They were examined by paramedics and taken for treatment.
Hundreds of other workers returned underground as the mine - which accounts for 60 percent of the DRDGOLD's South African operations - restarted production, although mine officials said the most affected shafts would remain closed.
FAMILIES HOMELESS
In nearby Stilfontein, 38 people suffered minor injuries and Mayor Jaycee Nxamakele said 21 families had to find alternative accommodation after apartment blocks were damaged.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude 5 and was centerd some 9 miles beneath the earth's surface -- far deeper than any mineshaft.
The last serious quake of 6.3 magnitude caused considerable damage north of Cape Town in 1969.
PHOTO CAPTION
A platinum mine in Rustenburg, South Africa. (AFP)