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Still-trapped miners 'anxious'
04/10/2007 10:00 - (SA)
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| A rescued miner looks tired after his ordeal.(Werner Beukes, Sapa) |
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Carletonville - Shouts of joy, whistling, and a big smile accompanied each load of miners as they were brought to the surface from the depths of Harmony Gold's Elandsrand mine near Carletonville on Thursday morning.
"I just want to tell my family that I'm okay," said Thabang Mokhethi, 40, after almost two days trapped underground.
Many are still trapped, some having been unable to surface since their shift on Tuesday, waiting for their turn on the lift that will hoist them out of the mine.
The lift takes about 30 minutes for the return trip to the surface.
Rescue workers are underground explaining to the miners what happened and assuring them that they will be taken to the surface.
"People are anxious, but once they understand what happened and that they will be brought up they are more calm," said Edward Molieleng, a mine officer who had been underground speaking to the miners.
They have also managed to take some food and water down, he said.
About 3 200 miners were trapped about 2km underground on Wednesday when a pipe fell into the lift shaft and cut off the power supply to the lift normally used to hoist them out of the mine.
- SAPA
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