At least 100 illegal miners have died trapped in South African gold mine as police cut off food and water, group says

13 January 2025, 22:03

At least 100 workers who were mining illegally in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa have died after being trapped deep underground for months.

The miners had long been in a standoff with police, who had cut off their food, water and supplies to force them out of the mine, a group representing the miners has said.

Sabelo Mnguni, a spokesman for the Mining Affected Communities United in Action Group (MACUA), said that a phone sent to the surface with some rescued miners on Friday had videos on it showing dozens of bodies underground wrapped in plastic.

Mr Mguni told The Associated Press that "a minimum" of 100 men had died in the mine in North West province, where police first launched an operation in November to force the miners out.

They were suspected to have died of starvation or dehydration, and 18 bodies have been brought out since Friday, he said.

Police spokesman Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said they were still verifying information on how many bodies had been recovered and how many survivors have been brought out after starting a new rescue operation on Monday.

Illegal mining is common in parts of South Africa, where companies close down mines that are no longer profitable, leaving groups of informal miners to illegally enter them to try to find leftover deposits.

The mine has been the scene of a standoff between police and miners since authorities first tried to force the miners out and seal the mine two months ago.

The videos sent up to the surface on the phone and released publicly by Mr Mnguni's group show dozens of dead bodies wrapped in plastic lying in darkened tunnels underground, with emaciated men sitting near them and pleading for help.

Police said the miners were refusing to come out for fear of arrest, but Mr Mnguni said they had been left trapped underground after police removed the ropes they used to climb out of the mine.

Police also cut off the miners' food supplies in an attempt to force them out of the mine.

Large groups of illegal miners often go underground for months to maximise their profits, taking food, water, generators and other equipment with them, but also relying on others in their group at the surface to send down more supplies.

Police have said they are uncertain exactly how many illegal miners remain underground at the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine near the northern town of Stilfontein, but it is likely to be hundreds.

Mr Mnguni said that at least 500 miners remained underground in different places in the mine, which is one of the deepest in South Africa at 1.5 miles and has multiple shafts, many levels and is a maze of tunnels, he said.

He said a preliminary post-mortem examination on a body that was previously brought out of the mine showed the man had died of starvation.

Cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has previously said: "We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out.

“They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped; criminals are to be prosecuted. We didn't send them there."