A MINE worker at the Rustenburg Platinum Mines in the North West was killed when he slipped and fell down a shaft on Tuesday, bringing the number of employees killed to three in less than a week. Company representative Mike Mtakati said on Wednesday that 27-year-old crane driver Julias Ndebele died last Friday when he was caught between a moving crane and a wall. Another worker, whose relatives are still being traced, was killed by a rock fall on Monday. Mtakati denied that the mine had been negligent and said safety had always been a priority. ”Never in the mine’s history have we had three accidents in one week. We are deeply disturbed,” he said. ”We have ongoing meetings with our workers to discuss safety. We had one of these discussions last week. ”Our workers have the right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions,” Mtakati said, adding that the mine’s management was in the process of conducting thorough investigations into all three incidents. – Sapa