Rescuers racing to clear a disused South African gold shaft of illegal miners said Thursday a final sweep appeared to show nobody was left underground after 78 bodies and more than 200 miners were lifted out this week.Illegal miners, most of them migrants, had taken over the shaft that was once part of South Africa’s vast mining industry. At least 246 people have resurfaced since a specialised machine installed Monday sent a cage down the 2.6-kilometre (1.6-mile) shaft near Stilfontein, about 140 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.Investigators face “a mammoth task” in identifying the dead as some of the bodies were already decomposing, and in some cases just bones, police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe told journalists at the site on Thursday.Since the police operation began in August, a total of 87 bodies have been retrieved and 1,907 miners have resurfaced.Many of those rescued this week looked frail, their legs just skin and bone. Nine people remain in hospital under police supervision, Mathe said.The vast majority of the clandestine miners are foreign nationals, with 1,125 from Mozambique and 465 Zimbabweans, police said.Only 26 were South Africans.Rescuers determined late Wednesday there was no one left in the shaft, head of Mines Rescue Services Mannas Fourie told reporters at the site.The cage was sent down again Thursday with cameras for a final sweep.”We couldn’t see any person still left behind, and we couldn’t hear any voices on the recording,” Fourie said.The miners had been located at a level some 1,280 metres below ground, but the cage was sent down further until it hit water to confirm there were no other people, he added.No longer viable for commercial mining, the mine was entered by the men illicitly.Locally known as “zama zamas” — “those who try” in the Zulu language — illegal miners frustrate mining companies and are often accused of criminality by residents.
Thu, 16 Jan 2025 13:39:44 GMT
