A rescue team was deployed to Gold Fields’ East Driefontein mine in Carletonville following a tremor shortly after 8am on Monday, the National Union of Mineworkers said.
”Paramedics have gone down. All the workplaces collapsed,” said NUM branch representative Elias Mulaudzi.
The collapse was at the mine’s number four shaft, said Mulaudzi speaking by telephone from the mine.
Gold Fields spokesperson Willie Jacobsz said the mine was still assessing the impact of the tremor. The company’s own equipment recorded an impact of between 5,5 and 5,8 on the Richter scale, he said.
Earlier this month, five miners died when seismic activity struck at the mine’s number two shaft.
The Council for Geoscience’s Dr Andrzej Kijko said: ”It was a really strong event. We are just taking information from our 22 observation stations around the country, then we will know the magnitude.” – Sapa