Six illegal miners confirmed dead in Welkom mine blast
Harmony Gold says six illegal miners have died and others have been hurt following a gas explosion at one of its Free State mines.
The mine company's Lauren Fourie says they believe the explosion occurred after one of the miners lit a cigarette at a the St Helena shaft in Welkom which was not in use at the time.
It's the second tragedy at Harmony Gold's Welkom operations in as many months.
In May, the bodies of 25 men were recovered from the Eland mine shaft - also after a gas explosion underground.
The victims of that explosion were believed to be illegal miners from Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Fourie says illegal mining continues to be a challenge.
"Criminal mining is an organised crime and we are doing our best to prevent and support the communities surrounding those mines and closed shafts to prevent illegal mining," she said.