The miners were stranded following an equipment failure on Wednesday, which led to debris damaging the main shaft and cutting off their exit route. Rescue operations have since enabled the safe return of a group of 30 workers, while efforts continue to bring the remaining mineworkers to the surface.

Livhuwani Mammburu, Spokesperson for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), said additional miners are expected to emerge later in the day.

“The other mine workers are expected to resurface at around 3 o’clock this afternoon, so we are still waiting to see if they are going to resurface,” Mammburu said.

Emergency services and mine officials remain on-site, and a full investigation into the cause of the shaft failure is anticipated once all affected workers are accounted for.

--ChannelAfrica--