The last of 3,200 gold miners trapped for more than 24 hours in a deep shaft were brought safely to the surface Thursday night, ending one of South Africa's biggest rescue operations, mining officials said.

Workers exit the mine after being trapped overnight at the Elandsrand gold mine near Carletonville, South Africa, on Thursday.
(Schalk van Zuydam/Associated Press)

The final workers emerged just after 9 p.m. local time, singing and dancing, according to the Harmony Gold Mining Co. No casualties were reported.

A pressurized air pipe snapped at the mine near Johannesburg and tumbled down a shaft Wednesday, causing extensive damage to an elevator and stranding the miners.

The rescue operation had dragged on longer than expected. Some of those stranded more than a mile underground had gone down Tuesday for the night shift.

The joyful reunions were mixed with anger, fear and renewed concern about safety standards in a country that is the world's largest gold producer.

'We were all hungry'

The miners were brought to the surface in a smaller cage in another shaft that can hold about 75 miners at a time. Most of the miners who emerged into the blinding sunlight looked dazed and exhausted.

Harmony Gold Mining Co.'s Elandsrand mine is northeast of Johannesburg.
(CBC)

"We nearly died down there," one man yelled as he walked past reporters. "I'd rather leave (the job) than die in the mine."

Sethiri Thibile, who was in the first batch of miners to be rescued about 19 hours after the accident, said there had been no food or water in the mine.

"I was hungry, though we were all hungry," said Thibile, 32, an engineering assistant who had been underground since early Wednesday morning. He was given a cold beef sandwich and a bottle of water when he reached the surface.

"Most of the people are scared and we also have some women miners there underground," he said.

One large group emerged from the shaft singing traditional songs and stamping their feet with joy despite their exhaustion. They were greeted by a crowd of ululating female miners.

Relatives had complained to mine operators that they had not been given enough information about their loved ones.

"I am very traumatized, exhausted, not knowing what is going on," said Sam Ramohanoe, whose wife, Flora, 31, had been among the trapped. "It is very unfair to us, not knowing what is going on with our beloved ones."

Officials had hoped to rescue all the trapped miners by lunchtime, but it ended up taking hours longer.

Deon Boqwana, regional chairman for the National Union of Mineworkers, said the smaller cage being used to bring them out normally takes three minutes to reach the surface, but it was operated at a slower speed because officials were taking extra precautions.

Peter Bailey, the union's chairman for health and safety, said rescuers did not want to put too much pressure on the elevator. It was also going slower because of problems with the electrical supply installed for the rescue, officials said. By the afternoon, the cage was coming up every 30 minutes, rather than every 15 minutes as it had earlier in the day.

Concerns about mine maintenance

The mine owner and South Africa's minerals and energy minister vowed to improve safety in one of the country's most important industries after the accident prompted allegations the industry cut safety corners and didn't properly maintain the mine.

The union threatened to strike if its safety demands were not met. In a message to mining bosses, it said it would "hit their pockets big time in the near future."

A union spokesman said concerns had been raised with the managers about whether the mine has been properly maintained, but no action was taken. The union expressed worries about rock falls and mudslides impeding the rescue.

Last year, 199 South African mineworkers died in accidents, mostly from  rock falls, the government Mine Health and Safety Council reported in September.