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Thousands trapped in S Africa mine
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SCI-TECH
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By Agencies
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 A rescue operation is under way after more than that 3,000 miners were trapped underground at a gold mine in South Africa.
Union leaders say they fear the men could be trapped without oxygen.
Amelia Soares, a spokeswoman for Harmony Gold, the world's fifth biggest gold producer, told Al Jazeera the workers at the Elandsrand mine in South Africa's Mpumulanga province were trapped after an electrical cable of a lift carrying workers to the surface snapped on Wednesday.
But Lesiba Seshoka, a spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers, told sources a water pipe had burst and probably caused the lift shaft to collapse.
Seshoka said: "It's a terrible situation.
"The only exit is blocked, probably by a fall of ground." Soares said mine engineers were trying to retrieve the workers by lowering an adjacent lift to their position.
She said the rescue operation could last well into Thursday morning, as it may only be possible to lift out a few hundred at a time.
Gold mine shafts in South Africa are typically 3,000m below ground or more, he said.
Last year, 199 mineworkers died in accidents, mostly rock falls, the government Mine Health and Safety Council reported in September.
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