‘Everybody’s out’: All 955 miners trapped in South Africa rescued unharmed after 30 hours

The miners were stuck in the Beatrix gold mine in the small town of Theunissen, for around 30 hours after a massive power outage caused by a storm prevented lifts from bringing workers on the night shift to the surface.

All 955 gold miners who were trapped underground for more than a day in South Africa following a power cut resurfaced unharmed on Friday, the mine’s owner Sibanye Gold said.

This general view shows the Beatrix gold mine shaft number 3 where nearly 1,000 miners were trapped underground following a power outage, in Theunissen.(AFP Photo)

“Everybody’s out,” said spokesperson James Wellsted, adding that there were “cases of dehydration and high blood pressure but nothing serious”.

The miners were stuck in the Beatrix gold mine, in the small town of Theunissen near the city of Welkom, for around 30 hours after a massive power outage caused by a storm prevented lifts from bringing workers on the night shift to the surface.

After several hours engineers were able to restore power, allowing the hoist to bring up the miners -- who had been trapped since Wednesday evening -- in batches.

Asked if there had been any casualties, Wellsted said there was “no indication so far that anyone has been in distress” although it had been a “traumatic experience”.

Several ambulances arrived on-site overnight, the AFP reporter said.

Nervous family members had earlier patiently gathered along the road to the shaft, kept at a distance by security guards.