South Africa Mine Collapse Traps 87 People

Dozens of miners were trapped underground for several hours - three still remain missing - following the collapse of a gold mine in northeastern South Africa.

A spokesman for the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) initially said around 115 of its members were "unaccounted for" after offices at Goldfields Lily Mine in Barberton, 224 miles east of Johannesburg, "tragically caved in" at 8.40am (local time) on Friday.

Mike McChesney, chief executive of the small gold producer Vantage Goldfields, said 87 workers had been brought to the surface, but three remained unaccounted for as rescuers continued to search for them.

There were no reports of any fatalities - and paramedics at the scene said those rescued had not suffered serious injuries.

Trapped miners were brought to the surface through ventilation shafts, the Barberton Times reported.

Mike Begg, operations director at the mine, also known as Makonjwaan, described the collapse as a "freak accident".

He told the newspaper the so-called lamp room at the main entrance - the last stop where workers receive lamps and safety packs before being lowered deeper into the ground - had collapsed.

"We have sent some of our own staff underground to try and come in from behind that area to see whether there are any survivors from that building who may have been able to crawl out and into one or two of the old tunnels,” he told the paper.

He said rescue workers were in touch with those that remain trapped as lists were being checked to find out who was scheduled to work today.

There were some reports that a sinkhole was believed to have caused the collapse.

Vantage Goldfields is an Australia-based company mining gold at Barberton.

The union said it wanted criminal charges to be brought against the owners and management should a probe reveal negligence was involved in the collapse.

South Africa, which has several gold, platinum, diamond and coal pits, has been dogged by several mining accidents recently.

Four miners were killed in an underground fire in a platinum mine near Johannesburg last month.