As more than 100 rescue workers try to burrow their way into the heart of the collapsed Tau Lekoa mine in Orkney to free four trapped mineworkers, it has been revealed that the last time there was communication with the workers was late Friday afternoon.
While one worker was rescued and hospitalised with serious injuries, the four others were still trapped inside, with no updates on Saturday morning on how long it could take to get to the buried chamber where they were trapped.
He said he had received information that the workers had been mining the natural support pillars within the mine shaft, and had failed to conduct a process known as “backfilling” to create new artificial support pillars out of rocks and cement. He said it was also unclear if another escape route had been mined from the chamber at all, or whether it had simply also been barricaded by the rockfall. He said that after the collapse, at least four rescue teams from other nearby mines were immediately summoned to assist in trying to break through to the chamber holding the four miners.
The rescue teams had hoped that they would be able to create some form of ventilation, but that it was believed the rocks had barricaded the ventilation shafts as well. Meanwhile, workers had another setback late on Friday night, where a ground collapse prevented them from going further. “They had to start from scratch,” said Montisetse.
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