Total Resurfaced Illegal Miners at Stilfontein Nears 1,500, 8 Dead So far
- The total number of illegal miners who have resurfaced at the disused Stilfontein mine is nearing 1,500
- Eight dead have been sent up to the surface after the first retrieval of a decomposed body nearly a month ago
- Police National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola noted that the loss of life was an unfortunate occurrence
Source: Twitter
STILFONTEIN — As operations continue at the disused Stilfontein mine in Klerksdorp, North West, six more illegal miners emerged from underground in the latest group to resurface.
Their re-emergence on Saturday, 7 December 2024, brought the total of resurfaced illegal miners — most undocumented Mozambican, Zimbabwean and Lesotho nationals — to 1,420 since 18 October.
Total resurfaced illegal miners reaches 1420
However, there remains no indication of how many more remain underground, with estimates pointing to hundreds.
This contradicts the widely reported number of 4,500 a few weeks ago.
In that time, volunteers and a mine rescue operational teams have retrieved eight dead bodies, bringing the first of these to the surface on 14 November.
The next were two bodies on the same day on 3 December and four the next day — the most to date. One more dead body was recovered a day later.
This made it seven brought up in a week after notes sent from underground with the corpses warned of escalating illness and death.
One of them read:
"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."
North West police spokesperson Colonel Adéle Myburgh said that of the latest to resurface, all were Mozambican.
The Gauteng High Court in Tshwane on 5 December postponed the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) NGO's application for humanitarian aid and medication for the illegal miners until 12 February 2025.
Speaking at a media briefing afterwards, National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola lamented the loss of life.
"It highlights the dangerous and unsafe conditions in which these illegal miners operate. Post-mortem reports will reveal the real cause of these illegal miners' deaths," said Masemola.
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Source: Briefly News
