A mineworker at a coal mine near Dundee in northern KwaZulu-Natal died on Wednesday when a roof support apparently collapsed and struck him.
Norman Slater, MD of Slater Coal, which operates the Magdalena Colliery, confirmed the death but said he would ”prefer not to comment” further on the accident until a survey of the damage had been done and an inquiry completed.
Sources at the mine said that a stick support, which helps to hold up the roof of the mine, is believed to have collapsed, striking the miner.
The miner’s name and age have not been released, but he is believed to have been in his forties.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said the miner was brought to the surface by the mine’s own rescue team. The miner had suffered severe head injuries that probably led to his death.
Paramedics were transporting him to meet a helicopter sent from Durban when the man went into cardiac arrest. He was then rushed by ambulance to Dundee provincial hospital but was declared dead on arrival. — Sapa