Mine fire toll rises to six

All but one of the miners who were trapped underground at the Phalaborwa copper mine in Limpopo have died.

Police Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the last remaining body was recovered in the early hours of the morning‚ bringing the death toll to six.

“The process of identifying them is still unfolding‚” he said.

“The cause of this incident is still not clear at this stage, but police are investigating.”

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) confirmed that a group of miners had died following an underground fire on Sunday morning.

“According to reports received from Amcu’s Limpopo East leadership‚ a fire broke out at the Phalaborwa Mining Company‚ a copper mine in eastern Limpopo‚ at around 1.25am‚” union head Joseph Mathunjwa said.

“The fire reportedly started at conveyor belt five. When smoke was seen by a logistic belt operator‚ the workers were instructed to evacuate to the closest refuge chamber.

“The proto team at the mine itself was reportedly not ready to complete the rescue.

“Therefore another proto team from the Burgersfort area had to be called in.

“Unfortunately‚ this team arrived late and could only start work at around 11am.

“They managed to recover one living and two deceased mineworkers from the mine‚ but the high temperatures‚ which rose from 64°C to 67°C‚ made the rescue efforts almost impossible.”

The other mineworkers were later confirmed dead in the refuge chamber.

“The proto team could not stay down long enough due to the high temperatures.

“They were wearing ice jackets‚ which only protect them for a limited time‚” Mathunjwa said. –