Months after South African authorities were accused of cutting off supplies to illegal miners operating in an abandoned gold mine, rescuers have extracted some of the illegal miners, as well as numerous bodies.
According to sources, hundreds may be trapped, and at least 100 people have died.
A large cage was lowered into a mine shaft in Stilfontein, which is roughly 140 kilometres (90 miles southwest of Johannesburg), on Monday by a professional mine rescue firm.
Johannes Qankase, the local chief, reported that at least four bodies had been found.
Reports indicate that at least 100 people may have already perished and hundreds may still be trapped in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, where rescuers have removed many dead and illegal miners.
Sabelo Mnguni, a spokesman for the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) group, said that a mobile phone sent to the surface with some rescued miners on Friday had two videos on it showing dozens of bodies underground wrapped in plastic.
Nine bodies were recovered in a community-led operation on Friday, he said. Another nine were recovered in an official rescue operation by authorities on Monday, when 26 survivors were also brought out, Mnguni said.
South African Police Service spokesperson Sabata Mokgwabone said they were still verifying information on how many bodies had been recovered and how many survivors were brought out after starting a new rescue operation.
Authorities now hope to bring all of the survivors out of the mine.
The mine has been the scene of a standoff between police and miners since authorities first attempted to get the men out and seal the mine two months ago.
Police said the miners were refusing to come out of the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine for fear of arrest, but MACUA’s Mnguni said they had been left trapped underground after police removed ropes and a pulley system the miners had used to climb into and out of the mine.
Illegal mining is common in parts of gold-rich South Africa, where companies close down mines that are no longer profitable, leaving groups of informal miners to illegally enter them to try and find leftover deposits.
Large groups of illegal miners often go underground for months to maximise profits, taking food, water, power generators and other equipment with them, but also relying on others on the surface to send down more supplies.
Police have said they are uncertain exactly how many illegal miners remain underground, but say it is likely to be hundreds.
South African authorities have long tried to crack down on illegal mining gangs, which are known as “zama zamas” – which means “hustlers” in the Zulu language – and have a reputation for being violent, often armed and part of criminal syndicates.
