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Gold miners rescued in Australia | |
(20 minutes later) | |
Rescue workers have freed 27 workers trapped when a gold mine shaft collapsed in southern Australia. | |
The miners were trapped for several hours before being lifted out through a ventilation shaft. Mine officials said none were injured. | |
The collapse occurred at the Ballarat goldmine in central Victoria, forcing the miners into safety chambers. | The collapse occurred at the Ballarat goldmine in central Victoria, forcing the miners into safety chambers. |
Victoria police said the trapped men had 30 hours of oxygen left, prompting a rapid rescue operation. | |
The shaft of the goldmine at Mount Clear, near Ballarat, collapsed in the middle of the night forcing the miners into what are called refuge chambers. | |
Some of the trapped men were 150m (492 ft) from the surface, with others thought to be just over half a mile down. | |
One of them used his mobile phone to communicate with the mine operator and police. | |
Rescuers used a crane to lift the men to safety, via an air shaft which was unaffected by the collapse. | |
The rescued miners smiled, waved and gave thumbs up signs as they were driven away. | |
"They're all in good spirits, all safe and happy," Joe Dowling of Ballarat Gold told the AFP news agency. |
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