More than 1,700 trapped gold miners were rescued during a dramatic all-night operation and efforts gathered speed Thursday to bring hundreds more terrified and exhausted workers to the surface.The mine owner and South Africa’s minerals and energy minister vowed to improve safety in one of the country’s most important industries after more than 3,000 of the miners were trapped when a pressurized air pipe snapped Wednesday and tumbled down a shaft, badly damaging an elevator.
“We have to recommit ourselves to refocus on safety in this country; our safety record both as a company and an industry leave much to be desired,” Harmony Gold Mining Co. chairman Patrice Motsepe said according to the South African Press Association, as union officials accused the industry of taking short cuts on safety in the interest of profit.
There were no casualties. The hundreds of workers who remained underground were all near a ventilation shaft and had been given water — though no food for fear of provoking a scramble among hungry miners, according to Peter Bailey, health and safety chairman for the National Mineworkers Union.
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