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Mbombela - There is renewed hope for three people trapped in a collapsed mine in Mpumalanga after the mine’s manager confirmed on Tuesday morning that communication had been received from underground.
The three are believed to still be in a lamp room near the surface. Sounds were heard on Monday morning coming from the area where they're believed to be, but by the evening the three had gone quiet.
The employees, Yvonne Mnisi, Pretty Mabuza and Solomon Nyarenda, were in the lamp room that was housed in a container near the entrance to the mine when the central pillar of ore, called a crown pillar, collapsed on Friday. The container was swallowed up in a sinkhole as big as a rugby field, News24 reported.
Lily Mine manager Mike Begg said rescuers took down electromagnetic equipment in attempts to confirm the location of the container, tweeted Jacaranda FM journalist Maryke Vermaak.
It is estimated that the container is about 12 metres from where they are at the moment - about 1000 tonnes - a day's work, Vermaak reported Begg as saying.
Operations have been suspended and a bus arrived on Tuesday to take mineworkers home, EWN said.
#LilyMine Begg says this is once again a renewed hope that they are in the right area, they just need to get the rock down.
— Maryke Vermaak (@MarykeVermaak) February 9, 2016
MV
The incident began on Friday when the mine collapsed, trapping about 79 miners. Seventy-six were rescued.
The rescued miners had sustained minor to moderate injuries ranging from breathing difficulties to lacerations, News24 reported.#LilyMine A bus has come to collect the mine workers to take them back home with operations suspended.KG pic.twitter.com/MS6ATLchXa
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) February 9, 2016
