JOHANNESBURG, June 20 (Reuters) - Six workers were rescued after a tunnel caved in at a South African gold mine owned by Gold Fields, but four others were still trapped, their union said on Saturday.
Lesiba Seshoka, a spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers, said that two of the four were in communication with rescuers. 'Six mineworkers have been rescued at Driefontein mine... one was seriously injured,' Seshoka said.
'The rescue team is trying to rescue the other four. They (rescuers) are able to communicate with two and the whereabouts of the other two are not known.'
The incident occurred on Saturday morning at Driefontein, Africa's biggest gold mine, near Johannesburg. It is owned by Gold Fields, the world's fourth-biggest gold producer.
Marritt Claassens, Gold Fields' spokeswoman, said the fall had been caused by a seismic event or earth tremor, which registered 3.5 on the Richter scale.
She however disputed that 10 workers had been trapped. 'Five workers were trapped underground, of which one was rescued, and is being treated in hospital with serious injuries. Four are still trapped underground,' she said.
Two other miners had had injuries treated in hospital but had been discharged, and five others had minor injuries.
South Africa, which has the world's deepest gold mines, has a dire safety record.
Last year 168 miners died and the government has resorted to shutting down mines temporarily whenever there is a fatality. About 80 workers have died in mines so far this year.
Driefontein Mine was hit by a tremor last Saturday, which led to the death of two miners. Part of it was closed for investigations. It consists of several shafts and produced 928,000 ounces of gold in 2008.
(Reporting by James Macharia; editing by David Stamp) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/) Keywords: GOLDFIELDS/ (james.macharia@reuters.com; +27117753158; Reuters Messaging:james.macharia.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Lesiba Seshoka, a spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers, said that two of the four were in communication with rescuers. 'Six mineworkers have been rescued at Driefontein mine... one was seriously injured,' Seshoka said.
'The rescue team is trying to rescue the other four. They (rescuers) are able to communicate with two and the whereabouts of the other two are not known.'
The incident occurred on Saturday morning at Driefontein, Africa's biggest gold mine, near Johannesburg. It is owned by Gold Fields, the world's fourth-biggest gold producer.
Marritt Claassens, Gold Fields' spokeswoman, said the fall had been caused by a seismic event or earth tremor, which registered 3.5 on the Richter scale.
She however disputed that 10 workers had been trapped. 'Five workers were trapped underground, of which one was rescued, and is being treated in hospital with serious injuries. Four are still trapped underground,' she said.
Two other miners had had injuries treated in hospital but had been discharged, and five others had minor injuries.
South Africa, which has the world's deepest gold mines, has a dire safety record.
Last year 168 miners died and the government has resorted to shutting down mines temporarily whenever there is a fatality. About 80 workers have died in mines so far this year.
Driefontein Mine was hit by a tremor last Saturday, which led to the death of two miners. Part of it was closed for investigations. It consists of several shafts and produced 928,000 ounces of gold in 2008.
(Reporting by James Macharia; editing by David Stamp) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/) Keywords: GOLDFIELDS/ (james.macharia@reuters.com; +27117753158; Reuters Messaging:james.macharia.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.