Gold miners rescued after South Africa quake
Three seriously-injured gold miners were brought to the surface today, a day after an earthquake trapped 38 men deep underground, killing one and leaving another missing.
The quake, centred near Stilfontein, 125 miles south-west of Johannesburg, also damaged buildings and caused scores of minor injuries yesterday in the town and at the nearby DRD Gold mine.
Mine officials said one miner was killed when the temblor caused tunnels to collapse and rescue workers were still looking for one missing miner in the shafts 1.5 miles underground.
A series of aftershocks hampered rescue efforts overnight as workers dug through tunnels clogged with fallen rock to reach the 38 trapped miners, freeing all but three of the survivors during the night.
About 3,200 miners were safely evacuated from the Hartbeesfontein gold mine shortly after the earthquake hit around lunchtime yesterday.
More than 20 miners were confirmed injured, and an additional 35 people were hurt in Stillfontein town centre, according to rescue workers and health officials.
A local government official, Wendy Sokupha, said about 60 families were left homeless after the quake, which brought down ceilings at the local shopping centre and shattered windows.
The largest recent earthquake to have hit South Africa – in the Western Cape province in 1969 – measured 6.1 on the Richter Scale.
