At least 400 illegal miners remain trapped underground in South Africa, two months after a police raid, according to a group representing the miners, which on Monday released footage showing emaciated men and dozens of dead bodies in the mine.
A spokesperson for the South African Police Service (SAPS) did not respond to requests for comment. Makhosonke Buthelezi, spokesperson for the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, confirmed that bodies had been retrieved from the mine but stated that further details would be withheld pending an official report.
The two videos, verified by Reuters, were provided by the miners’ rights group Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) on Monday. They had received the footage from miners who emerged from the gold mine in North West Province on January 10, after a pulley system was restored to access the bottom of the cavern.
In the footage, a Reuters reporter counted what appeared to be around three dozen bodies. However, Reuters could not independently confirm whether the plastic-wrapped, body-shaped objects at the bottom of the mine shaft were corpses.
The first video showed what appeared to be piles of miners’ bodies wrapped in sacks and plastic, while surviving miners still trapped underground pleaded for help. The second video depicted shirtless, emaciated miners with visible rib bones, highlighting their deteriorating condition.
Police stated they had cut off food and water supplies to the miners as part of an effort to force them out and arrest them for illegally entering the abandoned mine in search of leftover gold. This measure is part of a broader crackdown on illegal mining, which has been a longstanding issue in South Africa.
MACUA spokesperson Magnificent Mndebele reported that over 400 miners are still trapped underground, awaiting rescue, two months after the standoff with police. According to Mndebele, someone had deliberately destroyed a pulley system that was previously used to lower supplies and allow miners to exit the mine. However, MACUA managed to restore the system on January 9.
“The shaft is two kilometers deep. It’s impossible for people to climb out on their own,” Mndebele explained.
Buthelezi confirmed that South African authorities are now on-site at the mine with machinery, preparing for a planned rescue operation this week.
“The pulley system was initially put in place by community members, but it has since been replaced with machinery from mine rescue services,” Buthelezi said. “The mine rescue services have been contracted by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.”
