It’s not due to a collapse, it’s just that the “elevator” is broken and they have to reconfigure another “elevator” to allow them to exit safely. Nobody’s beem hurt, they just can’t get out.
But their umbilical is OK? O2 is still pumping down? And A/C?
That's not what this says...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - A water pipe burst and soil in an underground shaft probably collapsed Wednesday morning, trapping about 3,000 workers in a gold mine near Johannesburg, South Africa's economic capital and gold-mining center, the workers' union said.
It was not immediately possible to get comment from the management of Harmony Gold's Elandsrand Mine in Carletonville, nor details, such about how deep down the shaft is.
The spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers, Lesiba Seshoka, said the managers were meeting with union members.
Miners had gone down the shaft, then the water pipe burst, and they had not been heard from since about 10 a.m., he said.
``It's a terrible situation,'' Seshoka told The Associated Press. ``The only exit is blocked, probably by a fall of ground.''