Johannesburg - Nine miners were unaccounted for after a fire broke out at Harmony's Doornkop gold mine to the west of Johannesburg, the company said on Wednesday.
“Contact has been made with eight employees in a refuge bay; efforts continue to reach these employees and to establish the whereabouts of a further nine employees who are currently unaccounted for,” spokesman James Duncan said in a statement.
“The fire was reported to have occurred in a stope adjacent to 192 level haulage (some 1733 metres underground) at around 6pm on Tuesday.”
Duncan said rescue teams were immediately dispatched underground but access to the affected area was hampered by smoke and a subsequent fall of ground.
Operations at the mine were suspended. - Sapa