Police in the North West said 26 illegal miners, have resurfaced from the abandoned mine in Stilfontein, near Klerksdorp in the past 48 hours.
Most of those who resurfaced complained about hunger, dehydration and informed the police that there are decomposing bodies underground. “A total of 26 illegal miners resurfaced from underground at Margaret Shaft between Tuesday and Wednesday, as Operation Vala Umgodi continues. Of this number, 11 resurfaced yesterday (Monday) while 15 came out today (Wednesday). They include 14 Mozambicans, 11 Basotho and one South African,” said the provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone.
In addition, Mokgwabone said they also retrieved fatalities during the operation. “A total of seven bodies have been retrieved since early November 2024, to date,” explained Mokgwabone.
The retrieval comes as some volunteers and community members continues to lower food parcels to the illegal miners at the disused mine shaft using ropes. The food parcels include boxes of mageu, instant porridge, tin fish and maltabela amongst others.
Moreover, in one of the many written notes from the illegal miners, they requested that the process be sped up, as “there are sick people underground who need urgent medical attention, might die soon and requested to be hoisted after the retrieval of dead bodies.”
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola is expected to lead a delegation of senior officers to Stilfontein and Sabie mine, in Mpumalanga, to monitor the ongoing Vala Umgodi operations.
In Sabie, three bodies were retrieved and eight illegal miners rescued from a hole in Sabie, while about 150 more are still trapped underground. A rescue operation to rescue the illegal miners was aborted as police said the method used wasn’t safe and is expected to resume on Thursday morning.
