 "South Africa: Videos show dead bodies at disused gold mine")
As the operation to rescue potentially hundreds of people in an illegal gold mine in South Africa commenced on Monday, a lot of unexpected things were unearthed leaving rescuers and authorities shocked. Videos emerged show scores of illegal miners reportedly living underground for months, with one showing corpses wrapped in makeshift body bags.
Another video from the site shows the emaciated figures of some miners who are still alive.
As per reports, these people were sheltering underground since police operations, targeting illicit mining, started across the country last year.
Food, water supplies blocked
The authorities last year blocked food, water and medicines supplies arguing that the miners have entered the shaft in Stilfontein deliberately without permission, the BBC report said.
Over 100 of the illegal miners, known locally as “zama zamas”, reportedly died underground since the crack down began at the mine some 145 km (90 miles) south-west of Johannesburg, the report further said, adding that the authorities are yet to confirm this figure and has not been “verified by an official source.”
“We are going to smoke them out,” one of the ministers in the government said last November.
What video from South African mine show
As per BBC report, a video released by a trade union, the General Industries Workers of South Africa (Giwusa), showed dozens of shirtless men sitting on a dirty floor. Their faces have been blurred. A male voice, off camera, can be heard saying that the men are hungry and need help.
“We’re starting to show you the bodies of those who died underground… And this is not all of them… Do you see how people are struggling? Please we need help,” the man can be heard saying.
In another video, a man is heard saying, “This is hunger; people are dying because of hunger.” He then puts the death toll at 96 and begs for help, food and supplies.
Impact Shorts
View AllAt least 100 illegal miners die in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa.
— SD (@stringerukraine) January 13, 2025
According to Sabelo Mnguni, a representative of the United Group Against Illegal Mining, the miners trapped in the mine in North West Province are believed to have died from starvation or dehydration… pic.twitter.com/3LLzCbEchk
The union claims that the videos were shot on Saturday.
‘Miners died needlessly’
On Monday, Giwusa leadership held a briefing alongside community figures near the site of the rescue operation and said the videos shared “painted a very dire picture” of the situation underground.
“What has transpired here has to be called what it is; this is a Stilfontein massacre. Because what this footage does is show a pile of human bodies, of miners that died needlessly,” Giwusa president Mametlwe Sebei said.
Sebei blamed the authorities for what he described as a “treacherous policy” that was deliberately pursued.
South Africa gold mine rescue operation
The BBC report quoted the department of mineral resources, who are leading the rescue effort, as saying that the rescue operation on Monday (January 13) included lowering down a cage that is then hoisted up once loaded with people.
As per Giwusa, the cage can hold six or seven people, depending on their weight. It goes down the shaft - descending about 2 km - every hour.
The union informed that by the end of Monday, 26 miners had been brought up alive, along with nine bodies.
Why rescue operation was launched
As per a report by The Guardian, the government, on Friday, agreed to the begin rescue operation after the sister of one of those underground initiated a court case in response to letters from miners brought to the surface on Thursday.
One of the letters claimed 109 people had already died in the Buffelsfontein gold mine near Stilfontein, about 100 miles south-west of Johannesburg.
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