Another dam wall bursts in Jagersfontein

Another mine dam wall collapsed in Jagersfontein in the Free State on Tuesday evening.

Mayor of the Kopanong area‚ Xolani Tseletsele, said the incident happened at around 9pm.

This was the second dam to burst in the community this month.

Speaking on eNCA‚ Tseletsele said unlike the last time‚ the dam released water.

In the first incident on September 11 where a tailings dam wall burst‚ it released fast-flowing sludge that ruined land‚ property and killed at least one person and left scores of livestock animals dead.

“What [the mine officials] have told me is that due to the rains we suffered in the last two days‚ the dam burst but it was only water. I am from site now and had a physical look at it. There is no more [water] flow to the community, but what the incident has done is that it has brought back the panic to the community‚” said Tseletsele.

He said he would try to allay the community’s fears.

No damage or loss of life was reported in the latest incident.

This incident comes five days after the provincial government committed to rebuilding the lives of those who lost their homes and land in the September 11 disaster.

In an update on the steps it has taken to assist those affected‚ the office of the premier said the search and rescue mission for two people unaccounted for is still under way.

The missing were named as Mantele Mokhali‚ 50‚ and 70-year-old Shadrack Williams.

A 70-year-old man — identified only as Mr Mosweu — was initially among those unaccounted for‚ but he was identified by the forensic unit as the only deceased in the tragedy.

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