According to the mine’s spokes-person, Mr Sihle Maake, the incident happened during engineering safety maintenance on Saturday. Part of the job was to finish clearing an underground mud dam between 113 and 115 levels and repair the mud pipe. A team of six workers were assigned to the task.
The dam where the work was to be done is continuously maintained; it was cleaned over Easter and inspected two weeks ago.
According to Maake, the team inspected the dam again before it started working and declared it safe to proceed.
At first, the work progressed better than planned, and the workers started repairing the pipe. Things went wrong when a mud wall above the workers collapsed, falling on them. They were overcome by the mud. Although an artisan and an engineering assistant managed to escape, three engineering assistants and a high-risk work verification officer were not so lucky.
“It is not clear when the investigation will be completed due to the nature of the incident,” says Maake. “The surviving workers will form part of this investigation as they can shed light on what happened.”
The mine immediately notified the workers’ families and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), unions and other relevant structures. The accident site was closed, and DMRE was going to do an in-loco inspection of the mine.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident. A multiple loss of life event is a massive loss to us as a company. Our deepest condolences to the friends, family and co- workers of the deceased. Management will continue to reinforce our risk management procedures. We are cooperating with the relevant authorities while an in-loco investigation is underway to understand what led to this tragedy,” says Maake. He says the names of the deceased have been withheld until the mine has informed the families and provided the required support.
“We are deeply saddened by this incident. At Harmony, we view our employees as part of the larger family. Our priority is now to support the families of the deceased and everyone affected by this tragedy,” said Peter Steenkamp, Harmony’s chief executive officer.
Kusasalethu falls within Wedela police’s jurisdiction. According to Sgt Motsamai Moshe, the communication officer, an inquest case has been opened following the incident.
