Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
No more illegal miners are believed to be trapped in a South African gold mine, volunteers working with rescue groups say.
At least 78 bodies and more than 200 survivors have been released since Monday after a court ordered the government to support rescue efforts at the mine, one of the most dramatic disasters in history.
Police said they would check that no one was left behind on Thursday, when a rescue cage would be sent down the mine.
The conflict began in November when the government ordered the police to arrest any miners who came forward, saying it was determined to end illegal mining.
This article contains a video that some people may find difficult.
During Tuesday’s march, police and mining ministers were heckled and told to leave by angry mobs who blamed the government for the death.
Police said more than 1,500 miners reached the surface before rescue operations began, Reuters reported.
However, some continued underground, either because they were afraid of being arrested or because they were forced to live there by the gangsters who controlled the mine.
A spokesman for the South African Police Service said of the volunteer’s statement that no one is still underground: “We will rely on the Mine Rescue Service to confirm this with their modern equipment which will hopefully give us a picture of what is going on underground.
“The Mine Rescue Service has confirmed that they will send the cage undercover in the morning to check if any trespassers have arrived with the cage. We cannot say for sure that the operation has been completed at this time.”
Many mines in South Africa have been abandoned over the past three decades by companies that have not found them financially viable.
The mines have been taken over by pirates, often ex-workers, who sell the mines they find on the black market.
This includes the Stilfontein mine, located 145km (90 miles) southwest of the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, which has been a major target of government efforts to crack down on the illegal business.
A rescue cage has been running down the shaft to reach many miners who are thought to be at least 2km (1.2 miles) underground.
Many of the survivors had been without food and water since November, leaving them exhausted. He is currently undergoing treatment.
Officials say they have been charged with mining violations, immigration violations and immigration violations because many of the miners are undocumented immigrants from neighboring countries.
“It’s a crime against the economy, it’s an attack on the economy,” said mining minister Gwede Mantashe on Wednesday as he defended the protests against miners.
South Africa was heavily dependent on miners from countries such as Lesotho and Mozambique before the trade began to collapse.
Unemployment in South Africa is currently over 30% and many former miners say they have no other means of income.
