SA earthquake traps 42 miners underground

An earthquake in South Africa trapped 42 miners when it collapsed some deep underground tunnels, gold mining company DRDGOLD …

An earthquake in South Africa trapped 42 miners when it collapsed some deep underground tunnels, gold mining company DRDGOLD said.

"Some of the access tunnels have been closed by fallen rock ... the guys are digging like mad at the moment trying to get to them," spokesman Ilja Graulich at gold mining company said.

The quake measured 5.0 on the Richter scale and was felt in Johannesburg at 12.16pm (10.15am Irish time).

It had its epicentre near the town of Stilfontein, 155 km southwest of Johannesburg, experts at the Council for Geoscience in Pretoria said.