Stilfontein Mine: Bodies, Letters Pile Up As Illegal Miners Death Toll Rises to 7
- Volunteers have retrieved several more bodies at the Stilfontein mine in Klerksdorp amid reports of more deaths
- Authorities recovered three bodies in quick succession on Wednesday, 4 December 2024, with even more expected
- Reports suggested that a seventh body would be retrieved before the end of the day amid the ongoing rescue operation
- Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told Briefly News that the number of bodies retrieved by Wednesday evening was seven
Source: Twitter
STILFONTEIN — More bodies have been recovered at the Stilfontein mine. By Wednesday night, 4 December 2024, the total number of bodies retrieved since 14 November stood at seven.
Volunteers assisting in the retrieval effort confirmed that more dead bodies were inevitable after zama zamas sent another note to the surface, advising authorities of numerous ill and dying.
Illegal miners' bodies, letters pile up
Briefly News reported on Tuesday that a second decomposed body — following the first nearly three weeks ago — was retrieved at the abandoned North West mining facility in Klerksodorp.
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It later emerged that a second body that day — and the third overall — was recovered. The fourth followed mid-morning on Wednesday before a fifth less than two hours later and a sixth in the early afternoon.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told Briefly News that another illegal miner's body had since been sent to the surface.
"Four bodies were retrieved on Wednesday, which brings the total number to seven so far," said Mathe.
According to information, volunteers planned to retrieve decomposed bodies first and then those of recently deceased illegal miners.
In their first letter on Tuesday, attached to the corpse that was brought up and written in Sesotho, English and IsiXhosa, the zama zamas detailed their plight.
"We [regret] to [inform] you about people who are dying in the mine. One person died due to [a] shortage of food while some [others] are lying down, unresponsive. Please, we need help. Please [remove] us from this mine because [the] situation is difficult. We will be thankful by [you] helping us."
Watch the below video of a body retrieval:
What you need to know about the Stilfontein standoff
- The South African Police Service (SAPS) and South African National Defence Force (SANDF) launched Operation Vala Umgodi to clap down on illicit mining in the Bojanala Platinum District in December 2023
- Over 1,000 illegal miners have resurfaced from an abandoned mine shaft at the sealed-off facility between 18 October and 5 November
- Deportation orders were granted in court for arrested persons who resurfaced and appeared in court after charges were withdrawn
- Police retrieved a decomposed body from the shaft on 14 November, and three more zama zamas rose back to the surface the same day
- The High Court granted an interim court order on 16 November instructing police to unblock a shaft after the Society for the Protection of our Constitution (SPOC) applied for relief for the illegal miners
- The North-West provincial government on 18 November launched a retrieval operation for the illegal miners with the help of a private rescue team
- On the same day, the illegal miners sent a note requesting antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment for HIV/ AIDS
- The Gauteng High Court in Tshwane dismissed the SPOC's interim order for humanitarian aid for the illegal miners
- The non-governmental organisation (NGO) Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) began delivering food down to the illegal miners on 2 December after the high court granted another interim order
A letter, translated from Sesotho, accompanying the first of the three corpses on Wednesday read:
"Greetings. We would like to inform you that we have too many who are sick and look like they will die at any moment. We ask that you pull the seriously sick up after removing those who have died. We ask that you pull them up today [4 December]. Thank you."
Food lowered to illegal miners underground
In related news, Briefly News reported that on 2 December 2024, after dismissing an urgent application for humanitarian relief for scores of illegal miners at Stilfontein, the high court granted another interim order for aid.
The new application allowed the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) to deliver perishables.
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Source: Briefly News
