Gas Explosion Kills at Least 18 Miners

A gas explosion in a South African gold mine killed 18 miners and left one missing in a shaft more than 1 1/2 miles underground, mine officials said. Twenty miners were lifted to safety after the explosion Thursday at the Mponeng mine southeast of Johannesburg. None of the rescued miners was injured. The miners were lengthening an access tunnel to a working area when the gas, probably methane, ignited, said James Duncan, a spokesman for Anglogold, the world’s largest gold producer. A team of 20 rescue workers was looking for the missing miner, Duncan said.