486 trapped miners rescued in South Africa

Johannesburg, Feb 23: All 486 mineworkers trapped in a gold mine in Gauteng province of South Africa were brought to safety, Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited said on Sunday.

All the workers have not sustained any injuries, company spokesperson Pam McLoed said.

The workers were trapped about 2.3 km underground when a fire broke out on Sunday morning at Harmony Gold's Kusasalethu mine near Carletonville southwest of Johannesburg.

Counciling and health checkup will be provided to the workers to determine whether they have any smoke inhalation or have been dehydrated, the company said.

The fire was believed to have started during maintenance work on a bulk air cooler on 75 level at the Kusasalethu mine.

The company deployed specially trained teams to rescue the trapped workers.

The Kusasalethu mine prone to accidents. In 2014, three people died at the mine, in 2013 and 2012, two people and four people were killed respectively in different accidents, according to company statistics.

IANS