Decomposed body of illegal miner found at disused Stilfontein mine
A decomposed body has been discovered at the abandoned Stilfontein mine shaft in the North West. Since 18 October, police and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have been blocking food and water supplies to the mine, as part of Operation Vala Umgodi, in an effort to force illegal miners to come up from underground.
While many miners have emerged, some have remained trapped, starving and dehydrated.
Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the national spokesperson for SAPS, confirmed the discovery of the body, stating, “We do have a decomposed body that was brought up this afternoon; circumstances surrounding how this individual or illegal miner died are under investigation.” She added that an inquest has been opened, and pathologists were at the scene to examine the body.
“Our detectives are also on the scene and the necessary crime scene experts to take over the crime scene,” she said. Mathe also highlighted the scale of the operation, noting that over 1,000 illegal miners had surfaced since the previous day, with more still underground.
“We can confirm that as of this afternoon, a total of 1173 illegal miners have since resurfaced from yesterday,” Mathe reported.
Mathe explained that national officials had visited North West to show support for the police and SANDF on the ground.
“We are in support of this particular operation; I think as a caring government we have gone to great lengths to get these illegal miners to resurface on their own safely; we have gone as far as trying to communicate with them, sending flyers down there and so on,” she said. She also mentioned that some community members had tried to rescue the miners themselves, despite the risks.
“We are indemnifying them and making them sign indemnity forms as a way of exempting ourselves. We have taken them through the dangers and the consequences of doing so, but like I’ve indicated, as a caring government, we’ve gone to great lengths. This is a complex operation and time and again we will be advised on what is the right thing to do. So we are in rescue mode,” she concluded.
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