Eleven workers at a platinum mine have been killed in an accident with the elevator that brought them to the surface, the owner company announced today.

The tragedy occurred on Monday at the mine, which is about 150 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg. In a 1,000-meter-deep gallery, the elevator descended to pick up workers who had finished their shift and stopped several times during the ascent to allow others to board on other levels, explained Johan Theron, a spokesman for the Impala Platinum company. Shortly before 5 p.m. local time, “86 workers were standing on the lift” which, after its third stop, “suddenly started to descend” at speed, he added.

The system is automated, Theron explained.

An operator attempted to implement safety protocols but the elevator continued its descent and only came to an abrupt halt when the counterweight reached the surface. Until then he had free-falled from a height of about 180 meters.

The fall and stop was so violent that eleven workers were killed instantly. The remaining 75 are hospitalized and 14 of them are in critical condition, the company said. Many of the injured have broken legs.

The operation to retrieve the victims has been completed, the company said, saying it was “shocked” by the fatal accident. Today the mine did not work and an investigation into the causes of the tragedy has already begun.

South Africa has some of the deepest mines in the world and some of them have elevators that can carry up to 100 people at a time. Hundreds of thousands of people work in mines for gold, diamonds, coal and other minerals. The country is the world’s largest platinum exporter. Accidents in mines are not uncommon and dozens of people are killed every year, yet their safety has improved over the past 20 years. According to official figures, around 50 workers lost their lives in 2022.