- Over 1,170 illegal miners have been arrested since police blocked the mine entrance.
- Families wait anxiously as rescuers use makeshift ropes to pull miners from the 1.8km deep shaft.
A makeshift rope has become a lifeline for illegal miners trapped 1.8km underground in North West province, as community members lead a desperate rescue effort.
Local volunteers from Khuma township near Stilfontein are working to pull miners out of the abandoned shaft while police watch.
About 100 people, including former miners who know the tunnels, are helping with the rescue.
The crisis started when police launched “Operation Vala Mgodi” on 18 October, blocking mine entrances and stopping food and water supplies to those underground. On Thursday, rescuers found one dead body and saved one person, who was then arrested.
Police say 1,170 miners have come up and been arrested since the operation began. The volunteer group, which started work on Tuesday, had to sign forms to get past police barriers. They work from 9am to 4pm each day.
Volunteer Kagiso Gabashane says it takes an hour to bring up each person because the shaft is so deep. He joined to help his sister’s partner.
“I’m helping because he needs to support his child. He went underground to make money because my sister is pregnant,” he says, The Sowetan reported.
Families, mostly women, wait near the shaft and cook on open fires while police monitor the situation.
A former illegal miner who’s now helping with the rescue described conditions underground: “It’s very hot down there. We work in just our underwear. You have to keep eating to stay strong.”
Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says official rescue workers won’t go in.
“These people aren’t trapped – this is illegal mining. We’ve given them chances to come up, but some are refusing,” she says.
Police minister Senzo Mchunu visited the site on Friday.
Compiled by Staff Writer
Pictured above: Senzo Mchunu at the site on Friday.
Source: Arrive Alive/X
