Rescue operations in Stilfontein are far from over. More bodies of illegal miners keep surfacing as rescue operations are taking place. There are reportedly more than 1 300 illegal miners that have resurfaced so far.
MORE BODIES RETRIEVED
IOL reported on 4 December that after residents were granted permission to lower food, more bodies were pulled to the surface.
Zama Zamas claim that a handful of miners have died since police refused to provide them with food and water supplies in a bid to force them out of the mine shaft.
NO FUNDING FOR MACHINERY
Speaking to eNCA, Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola says that there is not enough funding to help with obtaining machinery to extract miners in the abandoned shafts.
“The rescue space requires funding to go in there and as I said that we are engaging other departments with a view to find out as to actually then how do we do and who’s responsible,” he explained.
He added that experts also come with hard conditions that might prevent them from entering the abandoned mine shaft.
SAFTU URGES GOVERNMENT TO SPEED THINGS UP
Speaking to eNCA, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi mentioned that the government should speed things up and rescue illegal miners trapped in Stilfontein. If necessary, they must be arrested and face the full might of the law.
He added that the government should not starve people to death or defy a court order, as anyone who is in South Africa, legally or illegally, has the same rights as those born in South Africa.
“Please get these workers out. If you want to arrest them for breaking the law, arrest them. But what you don’t have an option is to starve people to death instead of ensuring that they are removed from underground. What you cannot do is to defy a court order,” he said.
Speaking to SABC News, Mpumalanga Province Police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli said that approximately 68 people have been brought to the surface.
He added there were 40-50 people left and are hopeful that they will be done by today.
OPERATION VALA UMGODI
Operation Vala Umgodi is an initiative that fights against illegal mining. Since its inception in December 2023, approximately 15 000 Zama Zamas have been arrested.
EWN reported that Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola says that if more food is sent to the illegal miners, it might encourage them to stay down there longer.
He added that they wanted to limit the amount of food they lowered to them, but the court defied them as they did not impose any limitations.
The autopsies of the deceased Zama Zamas have yet to be completed, but community activists are placing the blame on the police.
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