Four Fatalities in Underground Mine Fire at Impala Platinum Mine, Rustenburg
Impala Platinum’s Marula mine in Limpopo.
[Click image to enlarge]
The Chamber of Mines has expressed its condolences to the families of four workers who died at the Impala Platinum Mine in Rustenburg, and has urged the industry to improve fire detection systems.
The workers died of smoke inhalation after they failed to reach a refuge bay before their rescue packs ran out of oxygen underground.
Twenty-two other employees were safely taken to the surface.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
The chamber’s head of safety Sizwe Phakathi says after the 2014 fire at Sibanye’s Doornkop mine, in which eight people died, fire detection systems were upgraded.
“Many of the mining companies, including Impala, have been quite vigilant in ensuring that systems are in place to detect fires. On that ground we say that this event was unfortunate, but let’s allow the investigation to take place.”
Source: (January 26, 2016) Eyewitness News
Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!
FREE eNews delivery service to your email twice-weekly. With a focus on lead-driven news, our news service will help you develop new business contacts on an on-going basis.
CLICK HERE to register your email address.
