This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/8144448.stm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
S Africa bosses flee mine captors S Africa bosses flee mine captors
(about 1 hour later)
Two more South African mine managers have escaped after being held hostage underground at a platinum mine. All five South African mine bosses held hostage underground at a platinum mine have been freed.
Three people are still being held by about 500 miners in North West Province, after three had evaded their captors on Thursday night. Eastern Platinum confirmed to the BBC that they had been rescued after lengthy negotiations with the police.
Eastern Platinum Limited told the BBC that police were conducting negotiations with the miners. About 500 miners seized eight supervisors at the Crocodile River Mine on Thursday, demanding permanent jobs. Three fled overnight.
The contract workers are demanding that Eastern Platinum give them permanent jobs at the Crocodile River mine. The workers are still underground and are refusing to leave the mine. Police are monitoring the situation.
Efforts are being made to notify families of the hostages who are being kept 30 metres below the earth's surface, company spokeswoman Charmaine Russell told BBC News. Canadian-owned Eastern Platinum could not reveal what condition the latest detainees were in, but said there were no other hostages underground.
"The miners have moved to a higher level, it is now easier to get to them because they are closer to the surface. Management, with the assistance of the police, are engaging with them to have the matter resolved soon," she said. The managers had been kept 30 metres underground, without water or food.
That section of the mine has been closed and employees have been vacated. It accounts for about three-quarters of the mine's total production. The protesting miners work for two contractors, Sindile Mining and JIC Mining Services, Eastern Platinum said, but they want to be directly employed by the mine.
'Depressed''Depressed'
No incidents of violence have been reported. The three men who escaped where unharmed but needed some medical attention and counselling, the AFP news agency reports. The section of the mine where the hostages were held has been closed since Thursday and employees have been vacated.
The first group to escape were unharmed but needed some medical attention and counselling, the AFP news agency reports.
Police spokesman Lesego Metsi told AFP the managers "were very cold, hungry and depressed when they came up but they did not have any physical injuries".Police spokesman Lesego Metsi told AFP the managers "were very cold, hungry and depressed when they came up but they did not have any physical injuries".
The protesting miners work for two contractors, Sindile Mining and JIC Mining Services, Eastern Platinum said. Two more fled on Friday before the final group was rescued.
In a statement, the Canadian company's president Ian Rozier said what the miners are demanding would be a contravention of the contractual agreement between the mine and the mining contractors.
Eastern Platinum has filed for an urgent court action which would order the workers to:
  • Refrain from participating in illegal and unprotected strike action
  • Release those who are being detained against their will
  • Vacate the underground working areas.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), whose other members are currently engaged in a nationwide strike which has put the brakes on all 2010 World Cup construction in South Africa, has reportedly condemned the miners' actions.The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), whose other members are currently engaged in a nationwide strike which has put the brakes on all 2010 World Cup construction in South Africa, has reportedly condemned the miners' actions.