As the National Union of Mineworkers, said NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu, we are deeply shocked by what happened yesterday at Impala.

We are also concerned about the health and safety statistics in the sector, which, he maintained, have increased this year.

Consequently, he added, we call on the Ministry of Mineral Resources to get to the bottom of what really happened.

We cannot accept a situation in which miners go to work and die like this, he emphasized.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) also sent its condolences to the families of 11 deceased miners.

They, said the union’s national spokesman, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, are not just numbers, they are the breadwinners of their families and have households that depend on them.

The day before, in an accident at an Impala Platinum mine near the town of Rustenburg, South Africa, 11 miners were killed and 75 others were injured.

According to the company, the cause lies in the failure of a cable connected to the 35-person personnel conveyor that lifts employees up and down the shaft.

Mining operations at the mine where the incident occurred, located in North West province, were halted today for an undetermined period of time.

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