Sibanye Stillwater in South Africa said on Friday that efforts are underway to rescue 289 miners trapped underground in one of the shafts at the Kloof gold mine near Johannesburg.
The workers said they were safe and gathered at a gathering point at an underground gold mine, one of the company’s deepest depths, about 60 km (37 miles) west of Johannesburg.
A Sibanye spokesman confirmed that it occurred on the mine’s Kloof 7 shaft, adding that all miners were considered and the company was providing food, but did not provide details of the incident.
The spokesman added that safety procedures and shaft inspections are ongoing. The miner is then wound up to the surface.
“We expect the situation to be resolved by midday today,” the spokesman said.
Mining accidents are not uncommon in South Africa. South Africa has some of the deepest and oldest gold mines in the world.
Earlier this year, at least 78 bodies were pulled from illegal gold mines after police blocked food and water supplies for months to crack down on illegal mining activities.
Johannesburg-based Shivany is only one of South African miners narrowing down profits from gold deposits in the region. Precious metal producers are mined at a depth of approximately 3,200 meters (2 miles) on Kloof 7 shafts.
The Kloof mine, which accounts for 14% of Sibanye’s total gold production, also operates two other shafts.
The National Union of Miners (NUM) said it had received a report of the incident, but it occurred around 10pm local time on Thursday (3pm).
