Second collapse hits S. African mine with trapped workers
Xinhua, February 13, 2016 Adjust font size:
A second collapse has occurred at a South African mine where three missing miners are still trapped underground after the first mishap, sources confirmed Saturday.
Several sources confirmed that they heard a loud bang on Friday night at the Lily Mine in Limpopo Province in northern South Africa. A week ago a container collapsed into a shaft, trapping 81 miners, among whom 78 have been rescued.
No further details are immediately available. The Lily Mine refused to make comment. A telephone call to the mine went unanswered.
Meanwhile, rescue operations in search of the three missing miners slowed down as drilling machines broke down.
Conditions have become increasingly dangerous, rescuers said, noting that there have been no signs of life since Tuesday and the missing miners have been without food or water for days.
The main challenge is to drill into a big rock that is hanging where the collapse of the container happened, according to the mine's operations director, Mike Begg.
The management said they would use vibration technology to loosen the rock.
Currently, about 550 tons of debris and rock, of an estimated total of 20,000 tons, was being moved each day. Endi