16 still trapped in quake mine
2005-03-09 23:23
Klerksdorp - DRDGold had no way of finding out whether 16 miners, trapped deep underground after an earthquake near Stilfontein on Wednesday, were alive or dead, said a spokesperson.
Late on Wednesday night, 26 of the original 42 trapped men were brought to the surface.
James Duncan said: "We had had no contact with them (the 42) since lunchtime. We don't even know if the ventilation shafts are working."
More tremors rocked the Stilfontein area in North West as rescue workers battled to unblock tunnels that had caved in, trapping the miners 2.4km below the ground at Hartbeesfontein gold mine.
Tremors continued through the evening, complicating matters for disaster management teams.
"Its not a good feeling (the tremors), especially when you are inside the damaged buildings," said emergency services spokesperson Mesh Letanta.
Unions were worried about a temporary power failure that happened underground after the quake.
Cooling fans were electrically powered, so temperatures could have gone up to more than 50° during the failure, said National Union of Mineworkers president Senzeni Zokwana and Solidarity regional organiser Johan Kruger.
Operates eight shafts in the area
The first tremor hit the area at lunchtime - measuring between 5.0 and 5.3 on the Richter scale, according to the Council for Geoscience in Pretoria.
Meanwhile, 23 miners had been confirmed injured.
DRDGold operates eight shafts in the area.
Duncan said 3 200 miners were underground when the first four tremors shook the area.
Only the 42 trapped in shaft 5 were still unaccounted for, the rest were safe, and most had been brought up to the surface and taken home, Duncan said late on Wednesday night.
"This is probably a re-activation of an existing fault line. No one is to blame," said Ian Saunders, project leader of the SA national seismograph network at the Council for Geoscience in Pretoria.
In nearby Stilfontein, 35 people were slightly injured and being treated at the local hospital, said the health department.
A disaster management team had been set up to co-ordinate relief activities, said Klerksdorp municipality spokesperson Wendy Sokupha.
She said business would continue as normal in the mining town on Thursday: "The schools will all be open tomorrow. They are fine."
Residents were shocked by the quake. "It is the first time I felt something like this," said Thaliti Monyatsi, who has lived there for six years.
"It was terrible. I got so scared."
Supermarket owner Frank Jardim felt the same: "It's bad news," he said.
Organising food donations
However, community workers have already leapt into gear - organising food donations from shops and local businesses.
Duncan said DRDGold's seismic monitoring system registered four "fairly large" events between 12:15 and 12:22.
The earthquake's epicentre was believed to be around Klerksdorp, said Saunders.
The tremor was felt as far afield as Johannesburg.
- SAPA