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Trapped underground: More than 200 stuck in gold mine
2/16/2014 3:36:47 PM
- More than 200 miners trapped underground
- They were working in a long-abandoned gold mine illegally, authorities say
- South Africa has tried to crack down on illegal mining
(CNN) -- Rescuers in South Africa worked Sunday to free more than 200 workers believed trapped in an abandoned gold mine that was being worked illegally, paramedics said.
About 30 of the miners trapped near the top of the shaft were able to communicate with rescuers, the emergency medical service ER24 reported. The rest were trapped farther underground in the mine in Benoni, on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg, ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak said.
Vermaak said a rockslide trapped the miners in a long-abandoned shaft. And Govan Whittles, a reporter for South Africa Eyewitness News at the scene, said the miners told rescuers that a rival group dropped boulders down the shaft to trap them.
Police looking for illegal dumping heard the men crying for help. The miners said they had been trapped since Saturday afternoon, ER24 said.
Gold-rich South Africa has repeatedly warned its citizens against trying to dig into old mines. Illegal mining "poses a danger not only to the miners themselves, but to the communities, as well as the economy and existing mines," Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said in September.
South Africa's Parliament has discussed legalizing the illegal mines to allow the miners to earn a living, but the cost of bringing the mines up to modern safety codes could be prohibitive.
CNN's Brent Swails, Christabelle Fombu and Emily Smith contributed to this report.
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