3,200 Miners Trapped In South African Gold Mine

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The New York Sun

Harmony Gold Mining Co., Africa’s third-largest gold producer, said 3,200 workers are stuck more than a mile underground at its Elandsrand mine in South Africa after a falling pipe damaged the shaft.

A pipe broke from a column near the surface “due to fatigue” and plunged down the 1.4-mile shaft, spokeswoman Amelia Soares said. An adjacent shaft normally used to haul waste is being refitted so that rescuers can start hoisting 300 miners an hour to the surface by midnight local time, she said.

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