Johannesburg - A miner was rescued from a collapsed tunnel at a diamond mine near Kleinzee on Tuesday, Northern Cape police said.
"We have just received information from the scene that one person has been rescued," said Captain Cherelle Ehlers.
"The person is being treated for shock and minor injuries."
No further information was available.
Earlier, Ehlers said 19 illegal miners were trapped underground, but that rescue workers were talking to them. Their condition was unknown.
A disused tunnel in the mine collapsed, trapping the men who had been illegally digging for diamonds. Eleven escaped and alerted the police that there were people underground.
"The miners are trapped in tunnels at the Bontekou mine in Kleinzee," said Ehlers.
The mine closed the tunnels in April.
Police and rescue teams from Kommagas, Kleinzee, Port Nolloth, Upington and Kimberley, and rescuers from the De Beers mine and the Nama Khoi disaster management, were at the scene.
It is thought the tunnel collapsed at about 03:00 on Tuesday. The area that caved in was about 6m deep and led to several tunnels and an underground waiting area.
Three of the 11 who escaped were admitted to a hospital in Springbok.
Ehlers said loose gravel was hindering rescue efforts.
I never realised that there were tunnels at the Kleinzee mine....
are-you-there
Yes and the spokesman said " They were only trying to put food on their families table . The emphsis shift from stealing to sympathy . Pure Humanism
The bodies of two illegal miners have been brought to the surface of a collapsed mine near Kleinzee in the Northern Cape, police said on Wednesday.
Police spokesperson Captain Cherelle Ehlers said 16 men remained trapped underground. Rescuers did not know if they were dead or alive.
"A national rescue team is on the way from Bloemfontein to help with the rescue."
One miner was freed from the rubble alive late on Tuesday, and was recovering in Springbok Hospital.
"His injuries were minor, but he was suffering from severe shock."
Rescue efforts were being hampered by loose gravel and, as fast as rescuers dug, so the hole caved in, Ehlers said.
The disused tunnels where the illegal miners were digging for diamonds were part of the Bontekou mine and were closed in April.
Thirty men were in the tunnels when they collapsed at 3am on Tuesday, but 11 escaped and raised the alarm.
Kleinzee residents gathered at the mine on Wednesday waiting for news of family and friends trapped underground.
In March this year a group of illegal gold miners died in a rockfall at the Grootvlei mine on Gauteng's East Rand.
The mine was closed and authorities said at the time it was too unstable to go underground to attempt a rescue or retrieve the men's bodies.
Quote from: Michael Alexander on May 22, 2012, 06:23:10 PM
I never realised that there were tunnels at the Kleinzee mine....
are-you-there
There weren't tunnels at Kleinzee, Mike - they've been created by these illegal miners.
The bodies of 10 illegal miners were recovered from a disused diamond mine near Kleinzee, in the Northern Cape on Saturday, De Beers said.
"Ten deceased diggers had been recovered from the collapsed tunnels [by Saturday evening]. One digger has been rescued and eleven diggers reportedly escaped," the diamond company said in a statement.
"The co-ordinated rescue and recovery operation is continuing. The operation will progress until all illegally excavated tunnels are found and searched for survivors or deceased diggers."
De Beers said the collapsed tunnel that was discovered by the rescue team was cleared on Saturday.
"Mining could then proceed towards what is reported, by diggers, to be another tunnel in the network. This work will continue until the tunnel is intersected."
Underground mine
The tunnels were not part of a previously worked underground mine but were excavated illegally at the site.
On Friday, rescuers recovered the bodies of five miner at the site, police spokesperson Captain Cherelle Ehlers said. She said rescue teams reached the collapsed tunnel by digging a trench alongside the entrance of a disused mine to try and get to the trapped miners.
Earlier this week, police recovered two bodies and rescuers could see another, but the unstable conditions prevented them from retrieving it.
One injured illegal digger was later rescued.
Tunnels at the mine collapsed at 15:00 on Tuesday. The mine had closed the tunnels in April.
Eleven illegal diggers reportedly escaped and alerted the police. The collapsed hole was about six metres deep and led to several tunnels and an underground waiting area.
A search for people possibly trapped after tunnels collapsed in a disused diamond mine near Kleinzee in the Northern Cape ended on Thursday, police said.
"Rescuers have opened all possible openings and there are definitely no more people in the mine," Lt-Col Hendrik Swart said.
"Initially the illegal miners claimed that there were more people so the rescue and recovery operations continued, but all illegally excavated tunnels were found and searched."
Swart said an inquest docket was opened.
"The bodies were transported to Cape Town where an autopsy will be done on each of them," he said.
"Forensic tests will also be done to assist with the identification of the bodies. This will include the taking of fingerprints as well as DNA testing."
By Saturday evening, the bodies of ten illegal miners had been recovered from the mine.
Tunnels at the mine collapsed at 3pm on May 22 after the mine closed the tunnels in April.
Eleven illegal diggers (also known in SA as "zama zamas") reportedly escaped and alerted the police. The collapsed hole was about six metres deep and led to several tunnels and an underground waiting area.
Swart said rescue and recovery teams would leave the area, but the De Beers mining company remained at the scene and continued with mining activities. - Sapa
Maybe these unfortunate illegal miners have opened a new mine for de Beers and they are going to start up mining operations again