Twenty-six miners trapped in a Swaziland coal mine are rescued with help from South Africa.

Twenty-six miners were trapped when a roof collapsed at the Emaswati Coal mine near Mpaka, Swaziland. The fastest way to get the miners out was through a drill which the Mine’s management immediately requested from South Africa’s Chamber of Mines. The Ingersoll-Rand rescue drill was kept at Witbank, Mpumalanaga. This kind of rescue was the first of its kind in Southern Africa. It was also the largest number of men ever to be rescued through a whole. Thirty one hours after the accident all the trapped men were above ground.