The mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mondli Gungubele, condemned the killing of illegal miners which occurred this past weekend.
Gungugubele spoke at the council meeting in the Germiston Council Chambers, on June 26.
“I’m speaking as a very disturbed man; the ongoing killings as a result of the illegal mining activities in our area must come to an end.
“Benoni has once again hogged the news headlines, not only as the hot spot of illegal mining activities, but also for the senseless killings of the very same illegal miners,” he said.
Gungubele said that the increasing number of bodies sends shivers down his spine to think that there could still be more.
“Surely this ongoing situation is not the kind of society we aspire to create,” he said.
Gugubele hoped that the Illegal Mining Forum formed by the Department of Minerals and Energy will move swiftly to ensure that such incidents become a thing of the past.
He added that a few months ago, the city joined other rescue agencies in bringing to the surface 30 trapped illegal miners.
At the time two bodies were found in one of the shafts.
The DA also urged the mayor to do something about the killings.
Meanwhile, Benoni police spokesperson Lieut Nomsa Sekele said that two more bodies of illegal miners have been found.
Sekele said the latest body, which also had a bullet wound in the head, was found yesterday (June 26).
This brings to 11 the total the number of discovered bodies so far.
There are also reports that illegal miners who survived the shooting are visiting various hospitals in Ekurhuleni for gun wounds treatment.
A police helicopter was used to search for more bodies yesterday (Wednesday).
