The 3200 gold miners who were trapped underground after a mining lift failure have all been rescued. The miners who worked for the Harmony Gold Company were trapped yesterday when the sole lift used at the gold mine near Ccarelton in Mpumalanga Province snapped a power cable.

A cart used to remove waste from the mine was rigged and used to rescue the miners. The reconfigured cart could only take about 75 people at a time leading to a two day rescue operation in temperatures that soared as high as 40C in places.

The successful rescue operation has been marred by accusations of negligence from South Africa’ National Union of Mineworkers who claim necessary safety work at the mine was neglected in the pursuit of profit.

The Chairman of Harmony Gold , Patrice Motsepe, conceded there were safety issues at the mine. In a statement to the South African Press Association he said "We have to recommit ourselves to refocus on safety in this country, our safety record both as a company and an industry leaves much to be desired,".