5 Years and No Closure: Lily Mine Workers' Bodies Remain Underground
- On this day five years ago the Lily Mine disaster occurred in Mpumalanga where 79 workers were trapped underground
- The bodies of three workers remained underground following a rescue attempt at the Lily Mine
- The families of the three people whose bodies have yet to be uncovered are still seeking closure
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On 5 February 2016, an above-ground container at the entrance of the Lily Gold Mine in Mpumalanga collapsed, burying three people whose bodies were never retrieved. Yvonne Mnisi, Pretty Nkambule and Solomon Nyirenda are the three miners.
It's been five years since the tragedy struck and the families of the three buried miners are seeking closure as the bodies are still underground.
Mnisi, Nkambule and Nyirenda were part of a group of 79 workers who were trapped underground when the mine collapsed. 76 workers were rescued, leaving Mnisi, Nkambule and Nyirenda's bodies underground.
Source: Getty Images
According to a report by the SABC, Harry Mazibuko, spokesperson for the families and a former Lily Mine worker, they will approach the high court to force the mine's business rescue practitioners to reopen the mine and retrieve the bodies. Mazibuko said they are receiving help from Herman Mashaba.
According to Mining Weekly, efforts to recover the container where the bodies were trapped have been unsuccessful so far due to instability underground.
In similar news, Briefly.co.za reported that at least 45 people were killed in the Boipatong massacre. On 17 June, 1992, scores of people were killed in what has since been dubbed the Boipatong massacre.
According to South African History Online, armed men butchered and assaulted the township's residents during the night. It was believed the massacre was politically-motivated and carried out by the Third Force - a group formed by the police force and government working with members of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
According to reports, the attack aimed to destabilise the country and disrupt the negotiations between the ANC and the ruling government at the time - which is exactly what happened.
Following the horrific massacre, the ANC withdrew from the Congress for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and suspended its participation in the negotiations. South Africans took to social media to remember those who had fallen during the tragic massacre.
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Source: Briefly News
