Johannesburg: October 4, 2007 - More than 1,500 miners are reported to be trapped in a collapsed South African gold mine and have been rescued in one of the most dramatic all-night rescue operations. About 1,700 workers remained stranded more than a mile underground after extensive damage to a lift shaft at the Elandsrand mine west of Johannesburg.

The miners, suffering from heat exhaustion in temperatures of up to 40C, were being brought out by a second, smaller lift with a capacity of about 75 people. Some of the men had been trapped underground for more than 28 hours.

The Company officials have given assurance that they would be to able to rescue all miners later today. But why this incident happened? What about the safety norms by the company?  Why the company is playing with the lives of the innocent miners, who are suffocating for the fault of the company, their lapses of safety and blindly directing them to work in high risky places.

Whatever could be the cause of the accident, whether the union blaming a rock fall ot the company claiming a pipe carrying chilled water down the shaft, to cool air underground, had broken off, severing an electrical cable carrying power to the main lift. It is the responsibility of the company to take care that such incidents do not recur. (IR Summary).

The speed which people coming up has improved. It is no longer a snail's pace," said Peter Bailey, the National Union of Mineworkers' health and safety chairman.

"They are very, very stressed and tired and very relieved to be out."
Sethiri Thibile, one of the first miners to be brought out, said there was no food or water underground.

"I was hungry, though we were all hungry," said Mr Thibile, 32, who had been underground for 24 hours.

"Most of the people are scared and we also have some women miners there underground."

Full Story:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/southafrica/story/0,,2183305,00.html