Article content

PREISSAC

Nine miners stuck underground at Iamgold’s Westwood mine in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, have all been evacuated and are safe and sound Tuesday night.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Nine miners rescued from gold mine in Abitibi-Témiscamingue Back to video

After being stuck for 18 hours the miners were rescued around 9:30 p.m. said the mine’s director Sylvain Lehoux.

The miners were exhausted, said Lehoux, and were able to speak to family members.

Digging them out was long and difficult according to union representative Marc Thibodeau. The burrowing machine that was supposed to dig a tunnel to the miners broke down 10 metres away from them.

According to Thibodeau the miners were in good spirits but hungry after their ordeal.

A seismic incident caused the cave-in. The 104 level, where the incident happened, was a new sector in development.

Seismic events happen on a regular basis says Lehoux.

One employee was evacuated around 1 p.m. because of his close proximity to the mine entrance.

The union spokesperson said that the first miner rescued appeared to suffer from shock.

“After the cave-in, the tunnel creaked for more than two hours. The earth moved and it sounded like explosions. When you’re stuck and it keeps cracking, you’re scared there will be more cave-ins,” added Thibodeau.