The death toll at an illegal mine in South Africa has increased to 87, according to police reports. This number rose from 60 the previous day, with deaths likely caused by starvation and dehydration.
Rescue workers have managed to bring more than 240 people to safety from the mine. Miners were trapped for months in the Stilfontein gold mine, located approximately 150 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg.
The police had surrounded the illegal mine, anticipating that the miners would eventually emerge, which many did before being arrested. Among them were at least thirteen children, as stated by a police spokesperson.
However, many illegal miners remained trapped, cut off from the outside world. A human rights lawyer noted the difficulty of escaping from the two-kilometer-deep mine shaft independently.
Those who managed to emerge were reportedly from a more accessible part of the mine. Initially, the government was unwilling to assist the remaining miners, only doing so after a court order mandated a rescue operation.
Authorities now estimate that nearly 2,000 miners were working underground in the deep Buffelsfontein Gold Mine. The police announced yesterday that they consider the rescue operation concluded and do not expect any more survivors underground.
A camera lowered into the shaft is expected to confirm this. Human rights organizations have criticized the authorities for attempting to “smoke out” miners by blocking the supply of food and other necessities.
Police stated that the miners could exit through various shafts, a claim disputed by lawyers and citizens defending the miners. Illegal mining is common in gold-rich South Africa, with miners without permits entering mines abandoned by commercial companies in search of remaining resources.
These activities sometimes involve violent criminal gangs.
Source: NOS