Around 4,000 illegal miners remain trapped underground in an abandoned mine in Stilfontein, South Africa. However, rescue efforts are currently suspended due to heavy rains, according to police authorities in the Northwest province.
According to the provincial police spokesperson, Sabata Mokgwabone, community-led rescue efforts will resume when weather conditions improve. The situation began on November 2, when more than 50 illegal miners left the Margaret shaft, considered relatively safe, and alerted about the presence of other workers trapped in different shafts of the mine, classified as dangerous.
"It is raining heavily and operations have stopped for now," Mokgwabone noted. He added that community members descended into the mine on Tuesday using a rope and were able to see thousands of miners, as well as several lifeless bodies. Food and water were provided to the trapped miners.
The spokesperson also mentioned that the 55 miners who recently managed to escape were arrested for violating immigration laws and engaging in illegal mining activities. Police authorities from various provinces, including Northwest, Gauteng, and Free State, have been taking strong actions against illegal miners who have invaded closed or unused gold mines for years.
Since the start of Operation Vala Umgodi against illegal mining, thousands of individuals have been arrested. "We are still in the shaft," concluded Mokgwabone.