Nine killed in South Africa mine accident

Johannesburg: Nine workers died in an accident at a South African mine outside Johannesburg on Thursday, a trade union said.

The accident at Gold Field's South Deep mine occurred when a cage carrying the workers plummeted down a shaft, apparently because of a snapped cable, trade union Solidarity said in a statement.

Eight of the dead were contract workers, while the other was a South Deep mine worker, Solidarity said.

Gold Fields operations in South Africa have been suffering from a series of accidents recently. Five workers died in separate accidents on Tuesday as well.