South African police have recovered at least 60 bodies from an abandoned gold mine. The bodies, believed to be of illegal miners, were discovered in a mine located southwest of Johannesburg, according to a report by French news agency AFP on Wednesday.
The report stated that local residents feared over 100 workers might have died in the mine near the town of Stilfontein, approximately 140 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg. Authorities began their rescue and recovery operation on Monday to retrieve the bodies and rescue any survivors.
In a statement, the police said that over two days, a total of 106 illegal miners were rescued and arrested in connection with illegal mining activities. During this time, 51 dead bodies were found. Additionally, nine bodies were recovered on Sunday.
The Stilfontein mine is located 2.6 kilometers underground. Authorities used specialized equipment on Monday to retrieve the illegal miners and the bodies.
South Africans refer to these miners as “Zama Zamas” in the Zulu language. These miners extract gold illegally without government approval. The South African government has been conducting operations against illegal mining for years. Local residents claim that these miners are often migrants from neighboring countries.
The South African police suspect that hundreds more illegal miners could still be inside the mine. On Tuesday, Police Minister Bheki Cele visited the site and spoke to journalists. However, he refused to specify the exact number of miners trapped inside.
“There is no way to definitively determine how many miners are there underground. However, I am certain that many are still inside. Any number we have is merely an estimate,” he said.
A local organization supporting miners, known as Makua, shared a video with AFP on Monday. The video showed dozens of miners’ bodies wrapped in cloth inside the mine.
Since August last year, over 1,500 illegal miners have been arrested in Stilfontein. Among them, 121 miners have already been deported by South African police.