65 trapped Free State miners rescued
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has confirmed that 65 miners have now been rescued from Sibanye Gold's Beatrix Mine in the Free State.
Hundreds of miners were left trapped last night when a power outage hit the mine, leaving the shaft out of order.
NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu says out of the 300 miners trapped in shaft 2, 65 have already been rescued.
However hundreds of miners are still waiting to be rescued in another shaft.
"There are 800 mineworkers who are currently trapped at shaft number 3," adds Mammburu.
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There is a dispute in the number of mine workers that trapped underground from the NUM and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).
AMCU says 940 miners were left trapped underground last night.
AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa says 40 of those mineworkers have since been rescued.
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Efforts to reach the mine to try an verify the exact numbers have proved to be unsuccessful.