Two workers died at Gold Fields' Driefontein operation near Johannesburg in the second spate of fatalities at the mine in as many weeks.

National Union of Mineworkers spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said two of the 11 men trapped underground had died and their bodies been brought to the surface at 2am yesterday.

Of the rest who were rescued, three were admitted to hospital, one with serious injuries.

The miners, who were working in shaft number five at the country's biggest gold mine, were trapped on Saturday when a tunnel caved in after an earth tremor measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale.

"(Two people are deceased, and their bodies have been recovered," Willie Jacobsz, a Gold Fields spokesman told Reuters.

"The entire mine has been closed for now, although it would not have been producing on Saturday evening or Sunday anyway," he said.

"We will know on Monday how long the mine will remain closed, based on a decision by the authorities," he said.

A tremor on June 13 led to the death of two miners, and the mine was partly closed for investigation after that event.

At another Gold Fields mine, Kloof, there were three deaths last month.

Seshoka said the union had been in contact with the rescued miners, who would be taken for counselling.

He said he was "very disappointed" with what had happened at the weekend.

"Another two miners lost their lives in the same mine last week. This is a great disappointment. There doesn't seem to be any willingness to improve safety."

Deon Boqwana, the regional chairman for the mineworkers' union, singled out Gold Fields mines, saying the mining group did not take safety seriously enough.

A mine inspector from the department of minerals and energy will go underground and conduct an inspection today.

Mining safety has been in the spotlight in recent weeks with the horrific deaths of at least 86 illegal miners in Welkom casting a shadow on the industry.

Though unrelated to formal mining operations, illegal miners' access to facilities has been questioned.

Last year, 168 people died on South African mines. About 80 workers have died in mines so far this year.

At Driefontein alone, 12 people died last year in nine mining-related accidents. Of the 12, eight were fatally injured in seismic events and three in tramming- related accidents, according to Gold Fields.

It said that during the second half of 2008, "Driefontein received and complied with various instructions to stop operations" (Section 54s) from the principal inspector of the Gauteng area of the department of minerals and energy.

The department, after additional inspections, said it was satisfied with the mine's remedial measures.

The Times