JOHANNESBURG: South African police said Thursday that five people had died after trespassing into a disused mine, with local media reporting the deaths were caused by a gas explosion.

At least 20 people are believed to be still trapped underground at the Gloria coal mine near the town of Middelburg in the eastern province of Mpumalanga after entering the shafts to try to steal cables.

"So far we have five killed," police spokesman Leonard Hlathi told AFP, saying he had no number of those trapped.

State broadcaster SABC said experts had launched a rescue operation to search for more than 20 people trapped underground.

It added that the group went underground to steal copper cables in the mine, which has been closed for several months.

Police said the group went into the mine between Sunday and Wednesday, and that rescue efforts were being hampered by unsafe conditions and a lack of ventilation.

The body of one person who died was taken out on Wednesday and the other four bodies were recovered on Thursday. </s> JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Five people were killed after a gas explosion in a South African unused coal mine in the eastern province of Mpumalanga while about 20 were trapped underground, state broadcaster SABC said on Thursday.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the mine’s owner. </s> MIDDELBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - The number of people killed by a gas explosion in an unused coal mine in South Africa’s eastern province of Mpumalanga has risen to six, and several others remain trapped, an official at the mine said on Thursday.

The representative of the creditor protection team at the mine, Michael Elliot, said more than 20 people were still stuck underground at the mine in Middelburg and are presumed dead.

“As I’ve been informed, there are six deceased people in this point in time that have been taken to the mortuary,” Elliot told Reuters over the phone.

Rescue efforts were hampered by dangerously high levels of toxic gas underground, Elliot said.

“We first have to restore power to the mine and we have to restore the ventilation to make it safe and once it’s safe... then we will go and recover these people that are missing,” he said.

The mine is owned by Tegeta Resources and Exploration, which is undergoing creditor protection after its owners, the Gupta brothers, found it difficult to continue doing business in South Africa following corruption allegations against them.

Several people had entered the mine on Wednesday afternoon to steal copper wires that supply electricity for lighting and ventilation when a gas pipe exploded, police spokesman Leonard Hlati said.

“The mine is wired with copper. They were going for copper,” Hlati said.

Copper is often stolen from disused mines in South Africa and sold for scrap.

The Gupta brothers, their lawyers and officials from their firms and family representatives could not be reached for comment about the mine incident.

The brothers - who headed what was one of the country’s biggest conglomerates - were accused of unduly influencing former president Jacob Zuma over political appointments and winning contracts.

Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing. </s> Five people were killed after a gas explosion in a South African unused coal mine in the eastern province of Mpumalanga while about 20 were trapped underground, state broadcaster SABC said on Thursday.

Any unauthorised use or reproduction of bdnews24.com content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action. </s> In South Africa’s eastern province of Mpumalanga, the number of people killed by a gas explosion in an unused coal mine as risen to six, as several others remain trapped.

The representative of the creditor protection team at the mine, Michael Elliot told Reuters that over 20 people are still stuck underground and are presumed dead.

“We received a WhatsApp (message) from the community to say to us that 22 of the people in the community are missing. We came out to the mine and we were informed that the community thought there was an explosion underground. We checked the fence and we found out that the blast doors had been blown off, which is an indicator that there had been an explosion, and we immediately commenced recovery and rescue operations”, he said.

Elliot also told Reuters that he had been informed six deceased people have been take to the mortuary.

Rescue efforts were hampered by dangerously high levels of toxic gas underground, he said.

Several people had entered the mine on Wednesday afternoon to steal copper wires that supply electricity for lightning and ventilation when a gas pipe exploded, police said.

The mine is owned by Tegeta Resources and Exploration, an undergoing creditor protection after its owners, the Gupta brothers discontinued doing business in South Africa over corrupt allegations. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Oxygen is to be pumped into the ground to disperse the toxic gas

Six people have been killed by a gas explosion in an abandoned coal mine in South Africa, the national broadcaster is reporting.

About 20 others are still trapped at the Gloria coal mine in Middelburg, east of the capital, Pretoria.

A police spokesman said some people had gone into the mine to steal copper wires when a gas pipe exploded.

Local media said rescue efforts were being hampered by dangerously high levels of toxic gas.

"We're still waiting for engines and generators to arrive to start putting oxygen into the ground", local government official Speedy Mashilo told South Africa's national broadcaster SABC.

He said that engineers would join the rescue efforts by rigging up lighting in the mine shafts.

The mine was closed after its owners, the Gupta brothers, found it difficult to continue doing business in South Africa following corruption allegations against them.

South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma has become embroiled in the allegations. Both parties have denied any wrongdoing.

Mining accidents are common in South Africa. More than 80 fatalities were recorded in mines across the country in 2017.

Last year, a power cut left 955 gold miners trapped underground for two days before they were eventually freed. </s> JOHANNESBURG: Five people have been killed by a gas explosion in an unused coal mine in South Africa`s eastern province of Mpumalanga and several others remain trapped, police said on Thursday.

 State broadcaster SABC said about 20 people were still stuck underground at the mine in Middleburg.

Rescue efforts were hampered by dangerously high levels of toxic gas underground, SABC said. The mine is owned by Tegeta Resources and Exploration, which is undergoing creditor protection after its owners, the Gupta brothers, found it difficult to continue doing business in South Africa following corruption allegations against them.

Several people had entered the mine on Wednesday afternoon to steal copper wires that supply electricity for lighting and ventilation when a gas pipe exploded, police spokesman Leonard Hlati said.

 "The mine is wired with copper. They were going for copper," Hlati said.

Copper is often stolen from disused mines in South Africa and sold for scrap. The Gupta brothers, their lawyers and officials from their firms and family representatives could not be reached for comment about the mine incident.

The brothers - who headed what was one of the country`s biggest conglomerates - were accused of unduly influencing former president Jacob Zuma over political appointments and winning contracts.

 Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing. </s> Six miners were killed in South Africa's northern province of Limpopo when a suspected petrol bomb was thrown into their bus, police said Tuesday, adding no motive was known for the attack.

"The bus immediately caught fire, instantly killing six people on board and injuring several others," police said in a statement.

The bus was carrying night-shift workers to a platinum mine on Monday evening when it was attacked outside the town of Burgersfort.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) called for police to investigate and arrest those responsible, saying there had been a number of recent violent incidents in the area.

"The bus was carrying 39 workers who were going to work at Modikwa Platinum Mine when it was petrol-bombed," NUM official Phillip Mankge said.

"Six workers were burned beyond recognition and the other workers had to escape through windows.

"We also do not know what is the motive of the attack on those innocent workers who were going to work." DM </s> Eleven dead, 25 trapped in explosion at iron-ore mine in NE China: CCTV

BEIJING: Eleven people were killed and nine injured Tuesday in an explosion at an iron-ore mine in northeast China´s Liaoning province, state media reported.

Twenty-five people are trapped in the mine run by China National Coal Group Co, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The injured have been rushed to hospital and the municipal government of Benxi, where the accident occurred, has dispatched a rescue team, CCTV said.

Deadly mining accidents are common in China due to lack of safety precautions.

A gas leak killed at least 18 people working in a coal mine in central Hunan province in May last year.

Seventeen other coal miners were killed when a lift used to move workers fell down a shaft in northeastern Heilongjiang province in March 2017.

In December 2016, explosions in two separate coal mines in the Inner Mongolia region and in Heilongjiang killed at least 59 people.

Also in 2016, 33 miners were killed in a colliery explosion in October in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, and in September at least 18 were killed in a mine blast in the northwestern Ningxia region.
Six people are killed by a gas explosion in an abandoned coal mine in Middelburg, South Africa.