Johannesburg - A still shaken mineworker on Monday spoke for the first time about how he survived the deadly Kusasalethu Mine collapse in Carletonville, while recalling the haunting cries of help from colleagues trapped in the rockfall.
A short walk to inspect a suspected broken water pipe saved the father of two from being swallowed by the 1.8 magnitude seismic underground tragedy that left three mineworkers dead.
“When I was drilling in the ceiling (of the tunnel), I noticed there was no water supply to the area where I was drilling. We suspected that the pipe had broken, so we stopped and I then walked along the passage towards the exit.
“I heard three loud noises behind me some 300m away, where I had left my colleagues. I looked back, but all I could see was smoke. I ran as fast as I could to the exit,” said the man.
As he was making his way out, he saw another miner running behind him, without his boots. They had got stuck between the rocks.
When the pair got to a safe area they were joined by another team and a group of rescue workers, and together they headed back to the scene of the accident, he said.
“The passage was blocked by huge rocks and we could hear one of the trapped workers screaming for help and water. We tried to use shovels to remove the rocks. There was also a disagreement between the mineworkers and the rescue team on the method used to remove the rocks.
“They have their own way of doings things. And 15 minutes later, the cries from the distressed miner went silent. We assumed he was dead,” said the miner.
