JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- More than 950 miners who were trapped underground in a gold mine after a power failure in the Northern Free State in South Africa have all been rescued, the mine's owner said Friday.
The operation to rescue the trapped miners at the Beatrix mine in the Northern Free State got a boost early Friday morning when power was restored at 2 a.m. local time (0000 GMT), said James Wellsted, spokesman of Sibanye-Stillwater which operates the Beatrix mine, some 290 km southwest of Johannesburg.
All the trapped miners have been brought to the surface, according to a a statement issued by Sibanye-Stillwater.
Wellsted told Xinhua that all the miners were hoisted to the ground at 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) and they are in good condition.
The accident is believed to have been caused by thunderstorms on Wednesday night. Strong thunderstorms damaged power lines, causing a power outrage and making the miners unable to take elevators to get to the surface.
"This is a very unusual occurrence. We haven't had this kind of thing before but obviously we will assess and see what we can learn from it," said Sibanye-Stillwater.
The company is reportedly using a generator to get the workers out of the mine. According to earlier reports, engineers had struggled with a software fault to get emergency generators to operate and re-start the lifts in the mine.
Food and water have been delivered to the underground miners. All operations at the mine have been suspended.
Buses have begun transporting rescued mine workers to their family members after the miners got a shower and some food.
Families of the miners have been keeping a vigil outside the mine shaft.
The Beatrix mine, where the miners are trapped, is 290 km southwest of Johannesburg.
Mine safety is a serious concern in the country, which operates some of the world's deepest and most dangerous mines. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it wants the government to investigate the cause.
"Our government needs to come to the party with some tangible enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations and work to reduce mine accidents," Sizwe Pamla, Cosatu's national spokesperson said.
They also called for the emergency services to double their efforts to rescue the trapped miners. Cosatu said mining companies should learn from past experiences to prevent an increase of mine fatalities.
"We need solid and sensible prevention mechanisms in place to help reduce and ultimately stop mining fatalities," Pamla said.
In 2007, 3,200 gold miners were trapped underground in a mine operated by company Harmony Gold's Elandsrand. They were all lifted out safely one day after the accident. In February 2015, Harmony Gold rescued 486 miners who were trapped underground after a fire broke out.
