Gloria coal mine death toll rises to 18

Rescue and body retrieval workers on Friday afternoon brought to the surface 13 more bodies of suspected copper cable thieves from the underground area at Gloria coal mine near Middelburg in Mpumalanga, provincial police spokesman Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said. “The workers could not continue with the operations due to the severe smoke which prohibited them, and they will apparently go down again on Monday,” said Hlathi.