News24 reports that Village Main Reef Limited confirmed on Sunday that the final casualty in the Tau Lekoa gold mine disaster near Orkney, North West, had been located and was being retrieved.
The four workers who died were Xolani Meva, 42, of Elliotdale and Lungile Nyawose, 32, from Lusikisiki, both drillers with 11 years of service; Katleho Nthibane, 47, from Bloemfontein, a team leader with 18 years of service; and Karabo Mabuthile, 35, a driller from Fochville with two years of service. Only one mineworker survived the incident. He is in a serious but stable condition after being rescued soon after the rockfall, which occurred as a result of seismic activity in the mine on Friday afternoon. National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said it had been a "sad experience" to see the casualties brought to surface after losing contact with them on Friday afternoon, as they struggled to breathe. The bodies of three of the four trapped mineworkers were recovered by rescue workers on Saturday evening. Village Main Reef Limited spokesperson James Duncan advised that the rescue team resumed their search on Sunday morning, after an overnight ground fall had forced it to withdraw.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tammy Petersen at News24
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