CEO of Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business, Tyler Mitchelson, said:
“Our priority remains the care of our five injured colleagues, their families and all of our workforce at this difficult time.
“Yesterday we commenced a staged re-entry into the mine to be able to safely access the longwall area where the incident occurred and begin our expert technical investigation today.
“Our investigation will draw on industry experts, including in the areas of methane and ventilation management, and forensic fire analysis.
“We will not recommence mining until we know what happened and how we can prevent it happening again.
“As part of our staged re-entry, tomorrow some of our workforce will start work in other areas of the mine complex, where the work is essential for the ongoing safety and integrity of the mine while the investigations proceed.
“It would not be right for us or anyone else to comment on the circumstances leading up to this incident, as this will all form part of the thorough expert investigation. It is therefore very premature for anyone to speculate on the causes of this particular incident.”