Seven days of hell – and hope
As the intermittent taps fade, so too do chances that the trapped miners will be found alive
Tap … tap tap … tap tap tap. Members of the Mi n e R e s c u e S e r v i c e s team hit a steel pipe on a rock, sending an audio signal to a metal container 80m below the surface at Vantage Goldfields’s Lily Mine in Mpumalanga. Tap … tap tap … tap tap tap. An identical signal returns from inside the container, the first sign of life since Pretty Nkambule, Solomon Nyerende and Yvonne Mnisi were trapped last Friday.
It’s early Monday morning, about 65 hours since a pillar supporting a declining pathway towards the tunnels of the opencast mine collapsed. The sign of life from inside what used to be a lamp room rejuvenates rescue efforts and brings hope to the workers’ families, who have been allocated a room in which to sleep and pray in one of the offices near the site.
“As a pastor myself and an employee at this mine, I feel it is my responsibility to make sure the families don’t give up hope,” says Elmond Mnisi, the father of one of the two women in the container.
“We pray together for the safety of our children and the operations of the rescue team while sitting inside that room. We’ve been treated very well by the company. I asked God to intervene and grant us a miracle.”
For the rescue teams, the signs of life confirm they’re on the right path. They’ve been working i n shifts without stopping since the operation began.
Says the mine’s operational manager, Mike Begg: “It’s amazing. We’ve been working for such a long time and, naturally, frustration begins to set in. Then suddenly, you hear those sounds from inside the container and everyone’s adrenaline starts pumping again. It’s breathed new life into the mission.”
His sentiments are echoed by Joseph Mathunjwa, the leader of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), as well as by the office of the president, who asks South Africans to keep the rescue teams in their prayers.
But outside the mine community, members and friends of the workers become less hopeful. Church services are held at the entrance of the mine every night. After three days of searching, Pretty Nkambule’s brother-in-law, Titus Nkosi, says he feels defeated. “The way that the management has described the accident seems like a disaster. We trust God but we doubt they are still alive.”
News of the signs of life from inside the container attract more people to the mine. Neighbours, friends and colleagues camp out near the mine entrance, hoping for another audio signal to keep hope alive.
Among them is Sibongile Nkosi, who lives next door to Solomon Nyerende in the “Doekies” mining village, about 30 minutes from the Lily Mine. “Hearing that Solomon has made contact with the rescue teams is an answer to my prayers. May God keep them alive. We trust he will emerge alive,” she says.
The intermittent tapping from inside the container continues throughout the day and begins to