JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At least five people are dead and an unknown number are trapped underground after an explosion at a non-operational coal mine in South Africa.
The Department of Mineral Resources said Thursday that five bodies had been retrieved from a shaft at the Gloria mine in Mpumalanga province, about two hours east of Johannesburg.
Police have declared the area a crime scene.
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Survivors told a local newspaper that a group had entered the mine to steal power cables when there was a gas explosion.
The government says rescue efforts are “hampered” because the shaft is unsafe and not properly ventilated.
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Mining is one of South Africa’s most important industries. South Africa’s Mineral Council, an industry body, says 84 miners were killed in 2018 in mine-related accidents.
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