Vaal Reefs mining disaster

Vaal Reefs Mining Disaster
Date10 May 1995
LocationOrkney, South Africa
Coordinates26°56′07″S 26°45′54″E / 26.93528°S 26.76500°E / -26.93528; 26.76500
CauseRunaway mine locomotive
Casualties
104 dead[a]

The Vaal Reefs mine disaster occurred on 10 May 1995 when an underground locomotive in the Vaal Reefs gold mine in South Africa fell into the mine shaft, hitting an elevator carrying mine workers, and causing it to plunge to the bottom of the shaft, killing 104 miners.[1][2] It is the worst elevator accident in history.[3]


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  1. ^ "As Many As 100 Feared Dead in Gold Mine Accident". Associated Press. 11 May 1995. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  2. ^ "We Care and we Remember Vaal Reefs, 10 May 1995". Minerals Council South Africa. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Vaal Reefs Tragedy Commemorated". Mining Weekly. 10 May 2005. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.