PICS: 150 illegal miners trapped in Mpumalanga abandoned mine, six saved and three dead

Law enforcement agencies are monitoring as rescue teams are working to free around 150 illegal miners trapped inside an abandoned mine in Sabie, Mpumalanga. Six people have already been rescued, while three bodies were recovered.

Members of the K9 unit of a private security company were patrolling around farms in the area on Tuesday afternoon when they encountered four men who appeared to be fleeing from the area.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli said the suspected illegal miners informed security guards that they had been trapped inside an abandoned mine. They also said others were still in the mine.

Illegal miners trapped inside abandoned mine

Police officers executing Operation Vala Umgodi promptly dispatched a team to the scene.

Mdhluli said rescue teams successfully extracted two foreign nationals, aged 23 and 24, and four South African citizens from the mine.

“According to the rescued individuals, they had been forced to work and mine for gold by their captors under dangerous and dire conditions,” he said. 

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“Tragically, three individuals lost their lives while trapped inside the mine shaft.”

The police believe the people running this illegal operation could be heavily armed.

Mdhluli said a recent altercation on 28 November 2024, in which alleged illegal miners attacked law enforcement officials, supports this suspicion.

Heavily armed operation

Law enforcement officials clashed with alleged illegal miners, resulting in a K9 unit warrant officer sustaining injuries and police fatally shooting three suspects.

The acting provincial commissioner of the South African Police Service (Saps) in Mpumalanga, Major General Dr. Zeph Mkhwanazi, has assured the public that law enforcement agencies are monitoring the situation.

The Saps, emergency medical services (EMS), Department of Health, Department of Home Affairs, two private security companies, and landowner plantation companies have joined forces to conduct this operation.

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Mkhwanazi also urged the public to allow the authorities the necessary space to deal with the situation.

“All relevant stakeholders, including search and rescue teams, are currently at the scene, and visibility in the area has been increased to ensure the safety of the community,” said the general.

Stilfontein

This situation comes as scores of illegal miners are yet to resurface from a mine at Stilfontein in North West.

A group of volunteers from the community is helping to retrieve the bodies of deceased illegal miners.

Rescue teams recovered around five bodies from the mine shaft on Wednesday, and rescuers are continuing to send food to those trapped underground who are believed to be too weak to escape.

Three more bodies of illegal miners have been recovered at the Stilfontein mine shaft brining the total number to five. Rescuers continue to send food to those believed to be too weak to resurface. eNCA's reporter @moeraneb14 has more details. #eNCA #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/48SIWkopOY

— eNCA (@eNCA) December 4, 2024

Rescue teams have found letters from the illegal miners on the recovered bodies, which plead for help as the miners claim their situation is becoming increasingly desperate underground.

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