Image copyright AFP Image caption Oxygen is to be pumped into the ground to disperse the toxic gas

Six people have been killed by a gas explosion in an abandoned coal mine in South Africa, the national broadcaster is reporting.

About 20 others are still trapped at the Gloria coal mine in Middelburg, east of the capital, Pretoria.

A police spokesman said some people had gone into the mine to steal copper wires when a gas pipe exploded.

Local media said rescue efforts were being hampered by dangerously high levels of toxic gas.

"We're still waiting for engines and generators to arrive to start putting oxygen into the ground", local government official Speedy Mashilo told South Africa's national broadcaster SABC.

He said that engineers would join the rescue efforts by rigging up lighting in the mine shafts.

The mine was closed after its owners, the Gupta brothers, found it difficult to continue doing business in South Africa following corruption allegations against them.

South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma has become embroiled in the allegations. Both parties have denied any wrongdoing.

Mining accidents are common in South Africa. More than 80 fatalities were recorded in mines across the country in 2017.

Last year, a power cut left 955 gold miners trapped underground for two days before they were eventually freed.</s>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Five people were killed after a gas explosion in a South African unused coal mine in the eastern province of Mpumalanga while about 20 were trapped underground, state broadcaster SABC said on Thursday.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the mine’s owner.</s>JOHANNESBURG: Five people have been killed by a gas explosion in an unused coal mine in South Africa`s eastern province of Mpumalanga and several others remain trapped, police said on Thursday.

 State broadcaster SABC said about 20 people were still stuck underground at the mine in Middleburg.

Rescue efforts were hampered by dangerously high levels of toxic gas underground, SABC said. The mine is owned by Tegeta Resources and Exploration, which is undergoing creditor protection after its owners, the Gupta brothers, found it difficult to continue doing business in South Africa following corruption allegations against them.

Several people had entered the mine on Wednesday afternoon to steal copper wires that supply electricity for lighting and ventilation when a gas pipe exploded, police spokesman Leonard Hlati said.

 "The mine is wired with copper. They were going for copper," Hlati said.

Copper is often stolen from disused mines in South Africa and sold for scrap. The Gupta brothers, their lawyers and officials from their firms and family representatives could not be reached for comment about the mine incident.

The brothers - who headed what was one of the country`s biggest conglomerates - were accused of unduly influencing former president Jacob Zuma over political appointments and winning contracts.

 Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing.</s>MIDDELBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - The number of people killed by a gas explosion in an unused coal mine in South Africa’s eastern province of Mpumalanga has risen to six, and several others remain trapped, an official at the mine said on Thursday.

The representative of the creditor protection team at the mine, Michael Elliot, said more than 20 people were still stuck underground at the mine in Middelburg and are presumed dead.

“As I’ve been informed, there are six deceased people in this point in time that have been taken to the mortuary,” Elliot told Reuters over the phone.

Rescue efforts were hampered by dangerously high levels of toxic gas underground, Elliot said.

“We first have to restore power to the mine and we have to restore the ventilation to make it safe and once it’s safe... then we will go and recover these people that are missing,” he said.

The mine is owned by Tegeta Resources and Exploration, which is undergoing creditor protection after its owners, the Gupta brothers, found it difficult to continue doing business in South Africa following corruption allegations against them.

Several people had entered the mine on Wednesday afternoon to steal copper wires that supply electricity for lighting and ventilation when a gas pipe exploded, police spokesman Leonard Hlati said.

“The mine is wired with copper. They were going for copper,” Hlati said.

Copper is often stolen from disused mines in South Africa and sold for scrap.

The Gupta brothers, their lawyers and officials from their firms and family representatives could not be reached for comment about the mine incident.

The brothers - who headed what was one of the country’s biggest conglomerates - were accused of unduly influencing former president Jacob Zuma over political appointments and winning contracts.

Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing.</s>Five people were killed after a gas explosion in a South African unused coal mine in the eastern province of Mpumalanga while about 20 were trapped underground, state broadcaster SABC said on Thursday.

Any unauthorised use or reproduction of bdnews24.com content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action.</s>In South Africa’s eastern province of Mpumalanga, the number of people killed by a gas explosion in an unused coal mine as risen to six, as several others remain trapped.

The representative of the creditor protection team at the mine, Michael Elliot told Reuters that over 20 people are still stuck underground and are presumed dead.

“We received a WhatsApp (message) from the community to say to us that 22 of the people in the community are missing. We came out to the mine and we were informed that the community thought there was an explosion underground. We checked the fence and we found out that the blast doors had been blown off, which is an indicator that there had been an explosion, and we immediately commenced recovery and rescue operations”, he said.

Elliot also told Reuters that he had been informed six deceased people have been take to the mortuary.

Rescue efforts were hampered by dangerously high levels of toxic gas underground, he said.

Several people had entered the mine on Wednesday afternoon to steal copper wires that supply electricity for lightning and ventilation when a gas pipe exploded, police said.

The mine is owned by Tegeta Resources and Exploration, an undergoing creditor protection after its owners, the Gupta brothers discontinued doing business in South Africa over corrupt allegations.</s>The mine is owned by Tegeta Resources and Exploration, which is undergoing creditor protection after its owners, the Gupta brothers, found it difficult to continue doing business in South Africa following corruption allegations against them.</s>Following the news (Thursday 7 February) of a major gas discovery in South Africa by Total SA, Jonathan Markham, Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on the find and the industry in South Africa:

“Total’s announcement of the Brulpadda gas discovery off the southern coast of South Africa is a major boost for the country’s ailing oil and gas sector. Upstream production in South Africa has fallen by over half in the past decade and recent exploration has proven unsuccessful.

“Offshore production of gas is supplied to the Mossel Bay GTL refinery, which is one of the primary revenue generators for PetroSA. Over the past few years it has struggled to source the necessary gas to continue operations and has been using more costly condensate imports. With existing gas sources declining rapidly, additional supply of around 200-300 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) by the early 2020’s is required to continue operations at the refinery. Natural gas is also used in other synfuel plants manufacturing and power generation, although most of the gas turbine power plants, with total capacity for 300-350 mmcfd, are running on liquid fuels due to lack of gas supply.

“The Brulpadda discovery could have a similar impact on South Africa as the Zohr discovery did in Egypt. At the time of the Zohr discovery, Egypt was starting to plan for a future where the domestic gas production would not be enough to keep up with local demand for gas. Currently South Africa imports gas from Mozambique and plans have been suggested for up to three new LNG regasification facilities to allow more imports into the country. Compared to other nearby gas discoveries that face significant delays, such as the Kudu development in Namibia or the giant fields in Mozambique and Tanzania, Brulpadda would be able to tap into a pre-existing local market where the infrastructure and demand is already present.”</s>JOHANNESBURG: South African police said Thursday that five people had died after trespassing into a disused mine, with local media reporting the deaths were caused by a gas explosion.

At least 20 people are believed to be still trapped underground at the Gloria coal mine near the town of Middelburg in the eastern province of Mpumalanga after entering the shafts to try to steal cables.

"So far we have five killed," police spokesman Leonard Hlathi told AFP, saying he had no number of those trapped.

State broadcaster SABC said experts had launched a rescue operation to search for more than 20 people trapped underground.

It added that the group went underground to steal copper cables in the mine, which has been closed for several months.

Police said the group went into the mine between Sunday and Wednesday, and that rescue efforts were being hampered by unsafe conditions and a lack of ventilation.

The body of one person who died was taken out on Wednesday and the other four bodies were recovered on Thursday.</s>Gas discovery in the offshore Outeniqua Basin speaks to South Africa’s hidden oil & gas potential; gives an opportunity for a meaningful dialogue on attractive legislation and local content development. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) (EnergyChamber.org) welcomes the recent gas condensate discovery by Total in Block 11B/12B, 175km off the southern coast of South Africa. […]

Gas discovery in the offshore Outeniqua Basin speaks to South Africa’s hidden oil & gas potential; gives a...



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Six people are killed by a gas explosion in an abandoned coal mine in Middelburg, South Africa.