THE Congress of SA Trade Unions said on Sunday that the safety of workers should be top priority. Reacting to an underground earthquake at the Deelkraal gold mine near Carletonville in which at least three people died, Cosatu said it would recommit itself to a campaign to improve the safety at work. ”We can never tolerate a situation where workers’ lives are regarded as cheap and expendable,” Cosatu representative Patrick Craven said in a statement. ”Safety must become the top priority.” He said the accident was even more of a cruel shock because most workers were preparing to celebrate the festive season and relax. He called for a full investigation into the cause of the accident. Rescue workers were on Sunday still searching for three missing mineworkers. An earth tremor caused a rock fall at the mine on Friday afternoon, trapping seven workers who were blasting about 2300m underground. Three mineworkers who were killed in the rock fall, were brought to the surface shortly after the accident. Another was rescued and treated for minor injuries. No update on the rescue could not be obtained on Sunday night. – Sapa