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Food and water supplies to those underground have been cut off by police who are trying to force the illegal miners to surface, according to Reuters.
Illegal miners can travel up to 4km underground and spend months underground in old mines, according to a report by the South African Minerals Commission. But without supplies, conditions underground are believed to be deteriorating.
One decomposed body was brought to the surface on Thursday, police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said on Thursday, adding that pathologists were at the Stilfontein mine.
Family members gathered near the mining site on Thursday afternoon, telling Agence France-Presse they were worried about relatives still underground.
“We are here for our brothers and sisters and my husband is here, he spent eight months underground,” Ntomboxolo Qwanti told AFP.
Reports differ on how many miners were at the abandoned gold mine in the North West province. Northwest country police spokesman Sabata Mokgwabone told The Associated Press that the three miners that came to the surface indicated that up to 4,000 miners could be underground. Other police reports put the number at the mine in the hundreds.
‘We will drive them out with smoke’
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Wednesday that no assistance would be provided to the illegal miners.
“We are not sending help to criminals. We will drive them out,” she said.
The illegal industry often takes place in “horrendous conditions” and is controlled by organized crime syndicates, Sebei said.
According to Mathew, the police spokesman, at least 1,172 illegal miners have so far voluntarily surfaced amid the pressure campaign.
Mathe also said the locals were organizing a community-led rescue attempt to get the remaining miners out, but they would first have to compensate the police.
“Community members are jumping in and demanding that they go and rescue these illegal miners themselves. We’re making them sign indemnity forms as a way to exempt us. We’ve taken them through the dangers and consequences of that,” she said.
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The police have escalated attempts to suppress the activities of illegal miners, known locally as “zama zamas”. More than $1 billion is lost annually to illegal mining in South Africa, according to the country’s Minerals Council.
Police and defense officials are expected to visit the scene on Friday. A police statement said the intention was to “reinforce the government’s commitment to bring this operation to a safe and legal conclusion.”
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