By Grace Ademulegun
Volunteers at a deserted gold mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, have expressed certainty that there are no more illegal miners trapped underground, marking a significant turning point in the gruelling rescue effort.
In what has turned into one of the most horrific disasters in South Africa’s beleaguered mining sector, at least 78 bodies have been found and more than 200 survivors have been rescued since the operation started on Monday, January 13.
After weeks of increasing pressure, specialised teams were sent to reach miners buried at least 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) below the surface as part of a court-mandated rescue operation.
In addition to receiving medical attention, survivors—many of whom were malnourished after going weeks without food or water—may be charged with unlawful mining, trespassing, and immigration offences.
When the nation’s ministers of mining and police visited the area on Tuesday, residents became enraged and hostile, accusing the government of being responsible for the fatal event.
A stalemate that started in November when police clamped down on unauthorised miners was exacerbated by accusations that officials prioritised arrests over human lives.
More than 1,500 miners had surfaced before the operation started, according to police, but there were still concerns that some were still down because they were either frightened of being arrested or were being held captive by the gangs that run the abandoned shafts.
As rescue crews got ready to send a cage down the shaft on Thursday for a last check, a police official stated, “We will rely on the Mine Rescue Service’s state-of-the-art equipment to confirm that no one is left underground.”
The incident highlights the lethal dangers of illegal mining in South Africa, where gangs have turned abandoned mines; which their owners frequently left economically unviable, into lucrative but hazardous areas.
Mines Minister Gwede Mantashe defended the government’s tough stance by saying, “These deaths are a crime against the economy.”
Deeper structural problems are brought to light by the predicament of miners, many of whom are undocumented workers from nearby nations like Lesotho and Mozambique.
Since unemployment has risen to over 30 percent, many former miners claim that their only option is to mine illegally in order to make ends meet.
Survivors and their families now face an uncertain future; tormented by loss and constrained by the harsh realities of economic hardship, while the government promises to take strong action against the illicit mining business.