Earlier reports had stated that Lesiba Seshoka, a spokesman with the National Union of Mineworkers, said that the miners have not been heard from for hours and that they could have been enduring temperatures as high as 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).
これまでの報道では、全国鉱山労働組合の女性広報担当者、レシバ・セショカ氏が「鉱山作業員からの連絡は数時間とれず、彼らが華氏105度（摂氏40度）もの温度に耐えていた可能性がある」と言ったと伝えている。