BBC Online :
Rescue workers in South Africa are trying to free 17 miners trapped underground after a fire at Doornkop mine west of Johannesburg.
The owners, Harmony Gold, said they had made contact with eight miners who they hoped to bring to the surface shortly.
“Efforts continue to establish the whereabouts of a further nine employees who are currently unaccounted for,” spokesman James Duncan told the BBC.
The fire began on Tuesday evening at some 1,700m (5,578 ft) below ground.
It is still unclear how it started.
Duncan said rescue teams were struggling to access the affected area because of smoke.
The Harmony Gold team has left the “Mining Indaba”, Africa’s largest annual mining conference, being held in Cape Town.
