The National Union of Mineworkers confirmed on Friday morning that all 955 Sibanye Gold mine workers who were trapped underground have been resurfaced.
“The mine workers were rescued at around 06:30 this morning,” the union’s national spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu confirmed to News24.
“They are currently getting medical check-ups. No injuries were sustained – they are just exhausted.”
A meeting was set to be held later at the mine’s training centre with management after all the workers had been attended to medically.
Sibanye Gold spokesperson James Wellsted also confirmed that the miners had been brought to the surface and that there were no serious injuries.
“There were some people with dehydration and few cases of high blood pressure and 16 of our older employees needed drips – but everything was successful.
“We are providing counselling for them and their families where it’s necessary,” Wellsted told News24.
Storm
The miners were trapped underground at their Beatrix mine unit following an electric cable outage after a storm on Wednesday night. The mine worked around the clock to restore the power supply in order to rescue them.
“[They have been trapped for quite some time now and [are] quite fatigued, but they are in an area that is ventilated,” Wellsted said on Thursday evening.
He added that they had been in constant contact with the miners, who had access to food and water and were in no danger.
