Lily Mine rescue takes toll on workers

The hopeful mood of desperate relatives who have been at Lily Mine near Barberton in Mpumalanga for a full week turned to despair as three mineworkers remained trapped underground.

Yesterday morning marked seven days since Yvonne Mnisi, Pretty Mabuza and Solomon Nyarenda were trapped at the Vantage Goldfields-owned mine when the lamp room container they were working in fell into a sinkhole before being covered by huge rocks.

Operations manager at the mine Mike Begg yesterday said the rescue operation had taken its toll on the teams who have been working long hours removing rocks and debris in attempts to reach the mineworkers.

Begg said he was positive the teams were in the right area, but admitted that some of the workers were getting sick and fatigued from working long shifts under strenuous conditions.

Earlier in the week, rescue workers had to resort to controlled blasting, which allowed them to remove some rubble. However, there were still obstacles – gigantic rocks are suspended from layers above, posing risks to the fatigued mine workers excavating below them.

“That is what we want to get, the soil coming down,” said Begg. “If today goes well and we are able to move rock and keep it flowing, we should be able to bring down material.

“That come.”

Begg appealed to the community to assist with food and drinks as they were experiencing shortages.

Quintus Sloep from trade union Solidarity said no indications had been given as to when the rescue mission might be called off. – Caxton News Service; ANA

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