Sibanye Stillwater in South Africa said Friday that efforts were being made to rescue 289 mining workers caught underground in one of their axes in the Kloof Gold mine near Johannesburg.
The workers were safe and gathered at an assembly point in the underground gold mine, one of the company’s deepest at about 60 km (37 miles) west of Johannesburg, he said.
He did not provide details about the incident, although a spokesman for Sibanye confirmed that it had occurred on the Kloof 7 axis of the mine, and added that all miners were counted and that the company was providing them with food.
The security procedures and an axis examination were underway, added the spokesman, then, after which the miners would be raised to the surface.
“We hope that the situation will be resolved around noon today,” said the spokesman.
Mining accidents are not uncommon in South Africa, which has some of the deepest and most old gold mines in the world.
Earlier this year, at least 78 bodies were removed from an illegal gold mine after the police cut food and water supplies for months in an attempt to take energetic measures against illegal mining activity.
Sibanye, based in Johannesburg, is among a few South African miners squeezing the gains of gold deposits in the area. The producer of precious metals is undermining at depths of approximately 3,200 meters (2 miles) on the Kloof 7 axis.
The Kloof mine, which represents 14% of the total gold production of Sibanye, also operates two other axes.
The National Union of Miners (NUM) said that he had received reports from the incident, which said it happened around 10 pm local time (3 pm et) on Thursday.
