Reports have emerged of over 100 men who perished from suspected starvation and dehydration deep within an abandoned gold mine in the North West province. This tragedy unfolded as police authorities sought to enforce a clampdown on the miner’s operations, leaving many trapped underground for months.
The Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), a group representing the miners, reported on Monday that the dire situation has claimed the lives of at least 100 men in what has since been called the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine crisis. Sabelo Mnguni, a spokesperson for MACUA, detailed harrowing information received from survivors and desperate pleas for help captured in cellphone videos sent to the surface by miners who escaped.
“This is hunger. People are dying because of hunger,” one of the videos captured by a miner in a darkened tunnel vividly illustrates. It shows emaciated individuals sitting in dimness, with the voice of the filmer echoing the cry for assistance: “Please help us. Bring us food or take us out.”
Rescue operations began in earnest after police launched a campaign to clear miners from the site in November. In recent recoveries, authorities have retrieved 18 bodies, three of which were recovered in community-led operations and the remainder during official rescues, alongside 26 survivors brought to safety on Monday.
Despite the ongoing efforts, Mnguni estimates that over 500 miners remain trapped in the labyrinthine shafts of the mine, which reaches depths of 2.5 kilometres. Difficulties arise as miners are scattered across multiple levels within the mine, complicating rescue procedures. The calls for help suggest that numerous groups may have been forced together in desperate circumstances, resulting in a growing tally of fatalities.
Authorities’ efforts have drawn criticism as police tried to cut food supplies to encourage the miners to surface. Mnguni lamented their treatment, asserting that, rather than criminal elements, many of those underground are former mine workers turned to illegal operations out of economic necessity.
“The miners go back to the mine because they live in poverty,” Mnguni stated, underscoring the socio-economic implications of these illicit mining operations commonly referred to as “zama zamas”—the Zulu term for “hustlers.” The South African government faces scrutiny as it previously refused to intervene in aiding the miners with essential supplies, a stance that has led to dire consequences for those entangled in the depths.
New delegations from the ministries of police and mineral resources are set to visit the mine on Tuesday, with authorities expressing a renewed commitment to resolving the ongoing crisis and ensuring the safe recovery of all miners. Meanwhile, the painful reality of hunger and desperation continues.