The bodies of eight South African gold miners trapped underground since an accident late Tuesday have been recovered.
Rescuers continued to search for one person who remained missing Thursday, as the government promised to investigate what happened.
A total of 17 miners were trapped when an earthquake set off an underground fire and falling rocks at the Doornkop mine, near Johannesburg. Eight of them managed to reach a refuge chamber and were safely brought to the surface on Wednesday.
Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said the incident is a lesson for both her agency and the industry, and that there has been hard work over the past five years to improve safety.
South Africa has some of the world's deepest gold mines. Harmony, the company that owns the mine, said the fire was reported 1.7 kilometers underground.
Rescuers continued to search for one person who remained missing Thursday, as the government promised to investigate what happened.
A total of 17 miners were trapped when an earthquake set off an underground fire and falling rocks at the Doornkop mine, near Johannesburg. Eight of them managed to reach a refuge chamber and were safely brought to the surface on Wednesday.
Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said the incident is a lesson for both her agency and the industry, and that there has been hard work over the past five years to improve safety.
South Africa has some of the world's deepest gold mines. Harmony, the company that owns the mine, said the fire was reported 1.7 kilometers underground.
