Four illegal miners are trapped underground just off Main Reef Road in the Stormill industrial area.
According to the brother of one of the trapped miners the four men have been underground since 11am yesterday, 24 Novermber. The man said that he was notified only on the morning of 25 November that his brother and four other men were trapped. He in turn alerted the police.
When the Record arrived at 10am a rescue operation was already under way. Members of the Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) alongside ER24 were attempting to make contact with the men and send water down to them. According to reliable sources the rescue team has to go about the operation with great care for fear of another cave-in.
A bystander who seemed to know the men told the Record that there could be more men down in the shafts.
By 12pm the rescue teams, under the watchful eye of the SAPS, still had no success and an excavator was called in to assist.
“The operation can take anything from hours to a day to two days. As far as we know the men are alright but that is all we can tell the media now,” said EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi.
