DHAKA: Rescue workers at a South African gold mine say they have recovered eight bodies after a fire and rock fall.

One other miner remains missing at the Doornkop mine west of Johannesburg, the government said.

Earlier, eight other miners were found in an underground refuge chamber and brought to the surface, mine owners Harmony Gold said.

The fire began on Tuesday evening about 1,700m below ground. The cause of the blaze is not yet clear.

‘The situation is deeply regrettable,’ mineral resources minister Susan Shabangu said in a statement, reports the BBC.

‘We must ensure that we do all we can to get to the bottom of what caused this incident in order to prevent similar occurrences in future.’

Eric Gcilitshana of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said the bodies had been discovered on Wednesday evening.

‘This is a very sad moment for us in the NUM. Our hearts go out to the families of the deceased,’ he was quoted as saying in The Star newspaper.

BDST: 1150 HRS, FEB 06, 2014