Three workers killed in another Free State mining accident
Another tragedy has hit the Sibanye Stillwater's Beatrix Mine at Theunissen in the Free State, with three more deaths on Friday.
This comes just three days after one worker lost his life and four others sustained injuries.
According to a source in the upper echelons of the mining industry, the driver of a front loader had a fatal accident when his loader fell on top of two miners, who died on the scene.
The source says the driver of the loader is also among those who died.
The brakes on the loader allegedly failed and led to this accident which claimed the lives of these three mineworkers.
Sibanye Stillwater's senior vice-president and head of investor relations James Wellsted confirmed the tragedy.
The mine is expected to comment on the mater soon.
Earlier this week a separate incident this week claimed the life of miner when a possible blast led to the dislodging of a rock that killed a worker.
The deceased was reported missing after the blast and was later found dead in a panel.
The mining industry has experienced a sombre week with more workers reported dead in the North West.
The mining operations at Impala Platinum’s shaft 6 in Rustenburg were suspended on Tuesday following the retrieval of the mineworkers who were trapped underground after a mud-rush incident at the weekend.
The total number of fatalities for 2021 currently stands at 65, already surpassing the 60 fatalities in 2020 and 51 in 2019.
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