Joseph Mathunjwa, the president of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), spent the whole night underground on Tuesday assisting in the search for the trapped miners at Lily Mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga.
According to Amcu’s national coordinator for Health and Safety, Gabriel Nkosi, Mathunjwa only came out at 6:15am on Wednesday.
Mathunjwa was assisting the rescue team in its search for three trapped miners.
“The long wait without knowing what is happening was killing me and the families, so I decided to go underground to witness what is happening and also to see if there is any developments made by the rescue team,” Mathunjwa said in a statement issued by Nkosi.
Mathunjwa said the rescue team was able to break the rock that was blocking the entrance to the container room where the miners were trapped and was currently taking out tons of rubble in the hope of finding and saving the trapped miners soon.
He said the situation was horrendous as it was the sixth day since the three miners went missing when the lamp room container they were in fell underground into a sinkhole during a collapse of a shaft.
The rescue teams have been working around the clock in a race against time to reach the three trapped miners in an operation that entered a “red alert” stage on Wednesday.
“Human body needs oxygen, food and water to survive and the longer they remain trapped the slimmer the chances of them being found alive,” Mathunjwa continued.
Amcu said the majority of mine workers were bread winners and also provided for their families back home and the thought of loved ones going to work knowing that they might not come back home was petrifying.
Mathunjwa said Amcu would continue to have faith and would pray with the families and community members for their loved ones’ survival.
“One life lost is too many, therefore mining companies really need to prioritise safety of their workers. We cannot continue to lose lives because of accidents caused by negligence and mining company’s non-compliance to health and safety.” – African New Agency
Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa goes underground to help Lily mine rescue
Joseph Mathunjwa, the president of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), spent the whole night underground on Tuesday assisting in the search for the trapped miners at Lily Mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga.
According to Amcu’s national coordinator for Health and Safety, Gabriel Nkosi, Mathunjwa only came out at 6:15am on Wednesday.
Mathunjwa was assisting the rescue team in its search for three trapped miners.
“The long wait without knowing what is happening was killing me and the families, so I decided to go underground to witness what is happening and also to see if there is any developments made by the rescue team,” Mathunjwa said in a statement issued by Nkosi.
Mathunjwa said the rescue team was able to break the rock that was blocking the entrance to the container room where the miners were trapped and was currently taking out tons of rubble in the hope of finding and saving the trapped miners soon.
He said the situation was horrendous as it was the sixth day since the three miners went missing when the lamp room container they were in fell underground into a sinkhole during a collapse of a shaft.
The rescue teams have been working around the clock in a race against time to reach the three trapped miners in an operation that entered a “red alert” stage on Wednesday.
“Human body needs oxygen, food and water to survive and the longer they remain trapped the slimmer the chances of them being found alive,” Mathunjwa continued.
Amcu said the majority of mine workers were bread winners and also provided for their families back home and the thought of loved ones going to work knowing that they might not come back home was petrifying.
Mathunjwa said Amcu would continue to have faith and would pray with the families and community members for their loved ones’ survival.
“One life lost is too many, therefore mining companies really need to prioritise safety of their workers. We cannot continue to lose lives because of accidents caused by negligence and mining company’s non-compliance to health and safety.” – African New Agency
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