A coal mineworker died yesterday when a roof support apparently collapsed and struck him.

A coal mineworker died yesterday when a roof support apparently collapsed and struck him.

Norman Slater, managing director of Slater Coal, which operates the Magdalena Colliery, near Dundee in northern KwaZulu-Natal, said he would "prefer not to comment" on the accident until an inquiry had been completed.

Sources at the mine said that a stick support, that helped to hold up the roof of the mine, collapsed and struck the miner.

The miner's name and age have not been released, but he is believed to have been in his 40s.

Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said the miner was brought to the surface by the mine's own rescue team. He said the miner had suffered severe head injuries.

Paramedics were transporting him to meet a helicopter sent from Durban when the man went into cardiac arrest. He was taken by ambulance to hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. - Sapa