Mine rescue in limbo

16 February 2016 - 02:32 By Shenaaz Jamal

A team of geological experts have called for a temporary halt to the rescue mission of three trapped miners at Lily Mine in Barberton Mpumalanga, as two landslides have further unsettled the ground.Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union head Joseph Mathunjwa said the situation should be declared a national disaster to attract better expertise and resources to aid the rescue.He said: "The rescue operations are becoming more complex."Resources like the Murray and Roberts shaft sinkers [are needed]."Those guys know how to sink and they have got bigger machines."Vantage Mines CEO Mike McChesney said chances of finding the three mineworkers alive were diminishing by the day. They have been trapped underground since February 5.The head of the volunteer rescue team, Christo de Klerk, said it was not safe to go underground and it would be difficult to say when the mine would be stable."For as long as there is movement of rocks you can't go underground. We cannot say how long it will take," De Klerk said.An Australian company is currently using laser equipment to study the movement of the ground.McChesney said: "The rescue mission is still on hold and we anticipate coming up with a number of other ideas over the next 48 hours."Mathunjwa said relatives of the three trapped miners remained hopeful as they gathered at the mine site."We have to be positive irrespective of the number of days. Our focus is on how we get to the container.''The families are optimistic and believe that a miracle can happen and we need not dump their hopes," Mathunjwa said.The Department of Social Development has assigned social workers to aid the relatives.Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini said: "Waiting here cannot be easy and we are doing everything that we can to ensure the families are taken care of."..

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