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S. Africa: eleven deaths in platinum mine accident
Eleven people died on Monday, November 27, accidentally in a South African platinum mine, when the elevator mysteriously fell while it was bringing up workers at the end of their workday, we learned on the 28 November from the company that owns the mine, Impala Platinum said.
Eleven people were killed and several others injured in an incident on Monday at the platinum mine near the town of Rustenburg (129 km from Pretoria), mining company 'Impala Platinum' (Implants) said on Tuesday.
“86 employees were standing in that elevator, eleven lost their lives, and all the others were transferred to hospitals,” said Johan Theron; the company spokesperson, specifying that some of them were seriously injured.
In this thousand-meter deep shaft, some 150 km northwest of Johannesburg, the elevator picked up miners at the bottom and stopped several times on the way up to "collect the miners at the end of their shift ", shortly before 5 p.m. Monday (3 p.m. GMT), Johan Theron added.
At the third stop, "it suddenly started going back down," he added, explaining that the system was automated. An operator then "applied emergency protocols" but the elevator continued to descend and only stopped at the bottom, when the counterweight rose to the surface, causing "a sudden stop."
“Some died, others were seriously injured, others escaped with scratches,” detailed the spokesperson, specifying that among the injured many had fractures in their ankles and legs.
He said the accident involved a cable reel connected to the elevator/ Lift which hoists employees from the bottom to the top of the shaft.
Stressing that the vehicle has three levels, each with a carrying capacity of 35 people, he noted that the accident required the intervention of emergency teams to bring the victims to the surface.
In South Africa, the constant deterioration of security conditions in the mining sector is causing deep concern among the authorities and professionals in the sector.
According to the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, the country recorded a total of 49 deaths linked to mining accidents in 2022, compared to 74 in 2021 and 60 in 2020.
The South African mining sector employs more than a million people and contributes 6 pc to the gross domestic product of this southern African country.
