644 miners rescued from underground fire
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) says an estimated 100 mineworkers have been hospitalised from Gold One's Modder East mine suffering from smoke inhalation.
The miners are being treated for smoke inhalation after an underground fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday.
NUM believes a bell truck caught fire while operating underground.
Spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu says 644 miners had to be rescued.
"We are very concerned about the incident as it is becoming a trend. There is already a high rate of mining fatalities in the country," says Mammburu.
The incident at Gold One comes hardly two-weeks after six workers died when a fire broke out underground at a Palabora Mining Company mineshaft in Limpopo.
Mammburu says the union is frustrated by the lack of intervention by the Department of Mineral Resources to ensure the safety of miners.
"We are sick and tired of these incidents that are happening in the mining industry."
Mammburu says the miners are recovering at the Parkland Hospital.
Listen below: