At least 300 workers are trapped underground in a major gold mine without any food after a door malfunctioned.
The miners have been stuck in Shaft 7 of Sibanye-Stillwater’s Kloof mine near Johannesburg since 10pm local time last night (9pm BST), according to South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers
Efforts to provide the men with food and get them out are ongoing, operating company Sibanye said.
But the NUM has said they are “angry” at the owners of the mine for attempting to “hide” the incident, with them taking several hours to confirm the workers are trapped.
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The ‘ultra-deep’ shaft the 289 miners are stuck down this morning is around 3km (1.8 miles) deep – meaning it will require a siginificant operation to get them all out.
That’s what the chief inspector of mines, David Msiza, has said this morning as concerns grow for the 300 workers, who are stuck down the mine without any food.
He told South African media: “You can’t take a chance. They have asked them to stay in the underground stations.”
The South African NUM has slammed operator Sibanye for the delay in confirming the incident – and said they are worried about the welfare of the miners after it emerged they did not have any food.
A spokesperson said: “We are angry that Sibanye has tried to hide the fact that 300 workers are trapped underground without food.”
A spokesperson for mining company Sibanye told South African outlet the Daily Maverick: “We can confirm that we had an incident at Kloof 7 shaft and are busy with making safety and shaft exam procedures, whereafter we will then hoist the employees out to surface. Employees are safe and accounted for.
“We don’t want to let the employees walk far distances at this time and hence it’s best for them to stay where they are at the station until it is safe to proceed to the surface. We are in the process of also providing them with food.
“We expect the situation to be resolved by about midday today.”
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