South Africa rescues all 260 miners stuck underground alive

All 260 mine workers who had been trapped in a South African underground shaft for more than twenty-four hours were rescued on Friday, according to the mine’s operator.

At the Kloof gold mine, 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Johannesburg, miners were stranded down Thursday after an accident destroyed a hoist that was used to reach the pit, according to Sibanye-Stillwater, the mining firm.

According to a statement, 79 people had been saved at 1:30 pm (1130 GMT) during the initial phase of the rescue, with the remaining individuals being recovered six hours later.

“At no point was there any risk of injury to employees during the incident,” it said. A decision had been made against using the emergency escape routes which would have involved the miners walking longer distances, it added.

The gold mine is one of the deepest operated by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company.

Desperate relatives of the miners waited outside the site during the rescue efforts, most of them expressing shock at the incident, local television footage showed.

“All affected employees will also undergo thorough medical examinations, if required, while support has also been extended to employees’ families,” the mining company said.

The National Union of Mineworkers said the incident happened around 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Thursday. It expressed concern for the miners who had been “underground for almost 20 hours”.

Sibanye-Stillwater had said earlier that the miners would be brought to the surface around midday Friday.

“The employees are not trapped; it was decided to keep them at the sub-shaft station for now,” spokesperson Henrika Ninham said.

In South Africa, the largest exporter of platinum and a significant exporter of gold, diamonds, coal, and other raw minerals, mining provides jobs for hundreds of thousands of people. However, mishaps happen frequently.

Although the number has been declining over the past 20 years due to increased safety regulations, dozens of mineworkers are still murdered every year.

The Minerals Council South Africa, an industry body, reports that 42 miners lost their lives in 2024, up from 55 the year before.

Neal Froneman, the chief executive of Sibanye-Stillwater, announced on Friday that the company would not reopen “until we are confident that all the necessary remedial actions have been implemented”.