Rescuers haul 82 survivors, 36 bodies from Stilfontein mine
Police say survivors of deadly siege face illegal mining and immigration charges
14 January 2025 - 12:18
UPDATED 14 January 2025 - 20:26
byNellie Peyton and Siyabonga Sishi
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A miner is carried on a stretcher by medical officials after being rescued at a mine shaft in Stilfontein, January 14 2025. Picture: IHSAAN HAFFEJEE/ REUTERS
Stilfontein — Rescuers have hoisted 36 bodies and 82 survivors from a deep underground gold mine in two days of operations, police said on Tuesday. The survivors all faced illegal mining and immigration charges.
Police laid siege to the Stilfontein mine in August and cut food and water supplies for months in an attempt to force the miners to the surface so they could be arrested as part of a crackdown on illegal mining.
Hundreds more men and dozens more bodies are still trapped underground, according to a miners’ rights group that issued footage on Monday showing corpses and skeletal survivors in the mine.
Rescue operations, which involve the use of a metal cage to recover men and bodies from a mine shaft more than 2km underground, will continue for days, with police saying they would provide a daily update on numbers.
Rescued miners are processed by police after being brought to the surface after months underground, in Stilfontein, January 14 2025. Picture: REUTERS/IHASAAN HAFFEJEE
The mobile rescue winder will lower a cage down the mineshaft to rescue trapped mineworkers. Picture: SUPPLIED.
A Reuters team at the site on Tuesday saw rescuers carrying one man on a stretcher. A group of other men, one of them emaciated, sat on the ground surrounded by uniformed police officers and paramedics.
The government has said the siege of the Stilfontein mine was necessary to combat illegal mining, which mineral & petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe described as “a war on the economy”. He estimated that the illicit precious metals trade was worth R60bn last year.
Minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said in November: “We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out.”
However a court ruled in December volunteers should be allowed to send down supplies to the trapped men, and another ruling last week ordered the state to launch a rescue operation, which began on Monday.
“All 82 [people] that have been arrested are facing illegal mining, trespassing and contravention of the Immigration Act charges,” the police said in a statement, referring to all those rescued on Monday and Tuesday. The statement added that two of them would face additional charges of being in possession of gold.
A 26-year-old woman living near Stilfontein, who gave her name as Matumelo, said her husband had gone down the mine in June when she was pregnant. She last received a letter from him in August and has since given birth.
“My husband, is he alive or dead?” she said, declining to give her family name for fear of retribution from the authorities.
Local residents and rights groups protested outside the venue where police and mining officials addressed the media on Tuesday. “STOP THE SACRIFICE. #FREETHEMINERS,” read one placard.
Update: January 14 2025 This story has been updated with new information.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Rescuers haul 82 survivors, 36 bodies from Stilfontein mine
Police say survivors of deadly siege face illegal mining and immigration charges
Stilfontein — Rescuers have hoisted 36 bodies and 82 survivors from a deep underground gold mine in two days of operations, police said on Tuesday. The survivors all faced illegal mining and immigration charges.
Police laid siege to the Stilfontein mine in August and cut food and water supplies for months in an attempt to force the miners to the surface so they could be arrested as part of a crackdown on illegal mining.
Hundreds more men and dozens more bodies are still trapped underground, according to a miners’ rights group that issued footage on Monday showing corpses and skeletal survivors in the mine.
Rescue operations, which involve the use of a metal cage to recover men and bodies from a mine shaft more than 2km underground, will continue for days, with police saying they would provide a daily update on numbers.
A Reuters team at the site on Tuesday saw rescuers carrying one man on a stretcher. A group of other men, one of them emaciated, sat on the ground surrounded by uniformed police officers and paramedics.
The government has said the siege of the Stilfontein mine was necessary to combat illegal mining, which mineral & petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe described as “a war on the economy”. He estimated that the illicit precious metals trade was worth R60bn last year.
Minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said in November: “We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out.”
However a court ruled in December volunteers should be allowed to send down supplies to the trapped men, and another ruling last week ordered the state to launch a rescue operation, which began on Monday.
“All 82 [people] that have been arrested are facing illegal mining, trespassing and contravention of the Immigration Act charges,” the police said in a statement, referring to all those rescued on Monday and Tuesday. The statement added that two of them would face additional charges of being in possession of gold.
A 26-year-old woman living near Stilfontein, who gave her name as Matumelo, said her husband had gone down the mine in June when she was pregnant. She last received a letter from him in August and has since given birth.
“My husband, is he alive or dead?” she said, declining to give her family name for fear of retribution from the authorities.
Local residents and rights groups protested outside the venue where police and mining officials addressed the media on Tuesday. “STOP THE SACRIFICE. #FREETHEMINERS,” read one placard.
Update: January 14 2025
This story has been updated with new information.
Reuters
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