Four illegal miners trapped underground at an unused mine shaft in Langlaagte, Johannesburg, have been rescued.
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But the police’s Kay Makhubela urged them not to go down the shaft.
The latest ordeal started when a group of miners at the Langlaagte Field Mine, a heritage site, did not surface on Wednesday.
“When they did not return, a group of 16 family members went down to look for them”.
“We don’t know exactly how many people are underground, we have been informed that they could be up to 16”. We started with the rescue this morning at 8.30 and only managed to rescue three.
A report in the Citizen notes that by Sunday hopes of finding the remaining trapped miners were fading, due to a fire in the shaft.
Among the people who had gathered at the shaft were sangomas who claim to have been aware of the trapped miners since Friday.
Meanwhile, after four other people were rescued, police say two of the illegal miners have been hospitalised, while the other two have been arrested.
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The Chamber says it believes that there are an estimated 14 000, people working in abandoned mines to retrieve precious metals. “They want the smoke to clear first so that they can go back and try to search for those who are trapped underneath”, he said.
