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Gold miners trapped in Australia Gold miners rescued in Australia
(20 minutes later)
A gold mine shaft has collapsed trapping 27 workers deep underground in southern Australia. Rescue workers have freed 27 workers trapped when a gold mine shaft collapsed in southern Australia.
No injuries have been reported, and some miners have already been brought up to the surface using another shaft. 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, so rescuers have lost no time in mounting an operation to get them out. 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 collapsed in the middle of the night forcing the miners into what are called refuge chambers. 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.
All the men are thought to be uninjured and one of them is using his mobile phone to communicate with the mine operator and police. Some of the trapped men were 150m (492 ft) from the surface, with others thought to be just over half a mile down.
Some of the trapped men are a 150m (492 ft) from the surface, others are thought to be just over half a mile down. One of them used his mobile phone to communicate with the mine operator and police.
But a spokesman for Ballarat Gold said the men were perfectly safe and would hopefully be rescued over the next few hours. Rescuers used a crane to lift the men to safety, via an air shaft which was unaffected by the collapse.
Rescuers are using a crane to lift the men to safety, via an air shaft which was unaffected by the collapse and they've already registered some success, bringing five men to the surface. The rescued miners smiled, waved and gave thumbs up signs as they were driven away.
They 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.