Elevator drop at platinum mine in South Africa kills 11 workers, injures 75

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A mine operator says an elevator suddenly dropped while carrying workers to the surface in a platinum mine in South Africa, killing 11 and injuring 75. It happened Monday at the end of the workers’ shift at a mine in the northern city of Rustenburg. The injured workers were hospitalized. The Impala Platinum Holdings CEO said it was the darkest day in the company’s history. The cause of the elevator fall was being investigated. South Africa is the world’s largest producer of platinum. Government data show deaths at the country’s mines have steadily decreased in the last two decades.