The Mining Affected Communities United in Action group says at least 400 people remain trapped in the abandoned mine, and many are believed to have died.
Rescue teams have pulled illegal miners and several bodies from an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, but reports say hundreds are trapped and at least 100 may already be dead. It’s out.
A specialist mine rescue company sent a large cage into the mine shaft near Stilfontein, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, on Monday.
“Let me confirm that the machine is working. We have raised seven people,” Mtukisi Jam from the South African National Civic Organization (SANCO) told reporters at the mine.
Community leader Johannes Kankase said at least four bodies were also recovered.
Sabelo Mnguni, spokesperson for the Mining Affected Areas United Action (MACUA) group, said cell phones sent to the surface with some rescued miners on Friday included dozens of others wrapped in plastic underground. It said it contained two videos showing human remains.
Mnguni said “at least” 100 people had been killed at the mine, where police first launched an operation to force miners out of illegal operations in November. Mnguni said the miners were suspected to have died of starvation or dehydration.
He said nine bodies were recovered in Friday’s community-led operation. Mnguni said nine more people were rescued in an official rescue operation by authorities on Monday, during which 26 survivors were also rescued.
South African Police Service spokesperson Sabata Mokgabong said they were still confirming information on the number of bodies recovered and survivors rescued after a new rescue operation began.
Authorities now hope to remove all survivors from the mine.
There has been a standoff between police and miners at the mine since authorities first tried to block the mine by forcing the men out two months ago.
Police said the miners were refusing to leave the Buffelsfontein gold mine for fear of arrest, but MACUA’s Mnguni said the miners were refusing to leave the Buffelsfontein gold mine for fear of arrest. The miners said they were left trapped underground after police removed the rope and pulley system that had been in place.
“The shaft is 2km (1.2 miles) deep. It is impossible for humans to climb,” said MACUA’s Magnificent Mndebele.
South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper reported that the company leading the rescue effort has designed a special cage that can be lowered up to 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) into the mine shaft, and if all goes according to plan, the rescue operation will last 16 days. Ta.
In December, MACUA won a lawsuit ordering police and state authorities to allow the delivery of food, water and medicine to miners.
Illegal mining is common in parts of gold-rich South Africa, where companies close mines that are no longer profitable and groups of informal miners move in illegally to search for remaining deposits. It is said that
Large groups of illegal miners go underground for months to maximize profits, bringing back food, water, generators, and other equipment, while also venturing elsewhere above ground to bring in more supplies. Sometimes they rely on other miners.
Police said it was unclear exactly how many illegal miners remained underground, but it was likely in the hundreds.
South African authorities have long sought to crack down on illegal mining gangs known as “Zama Zamas” (Zulu for “hustlers”). They are known to be violent, often armed, and part of criminal organizations.
MACUA’s Mnguni said this particular group of trapped miners were not criminals, but former mine employees who had been forced out of their jobs due to mine closures and found themselves in a desperate situation.
“Miners go back to the mines because they live in poverty,” he says.
