Date: January 14th, 2025 7:39 AM
Author: ,.,..,.,..,.,.,.,..,.,.,,..,..,.,,..,.,,.
what a great summation of that country's failures. thousands of illegal miners went buckwild on a 'closed' gold mining complex, digging new tunnels and pilfering whatever they could find at depths reaching 1.5 miles.
the south african government ordered them out, but didn't have a strategy for enforcing that order, and nearly 1,000 miners refused to leave and face arrest. so the local officials tried to starve them out, which has apparently succeeded in part.
but the miners are now dying and diseased, and cannot be rescued directly, because the mine is too large and dangerous for rescue workers, and many of them can't reach the surface anymore because they are too weak or sick to climb 1.5 vertical miles out.
libs/ANC fans, explain why you voted for this:
https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/six-more-illegal-miners-bodies-retrieved-from-stilfontein-shaft-11-20250114
Six more illegal miners' bodies retrieved from Stilfontein Shaft 11
Six more bodies of illegal miners were recovered from Stilfontein mine on Tuesday.
Rescue teams pulled the six bodies from Shaft 11 on Tuesday and rescued another eight miners who required medical care.
By Monday morning, according to community leader Johannes Qankase, 109 bodies were underground.
He feared that the number would increase if those who were still alive didn't make it.
Later on Monday, a rescue cage was used to bring 26 miners and nine bodies to the surface.
Details of the number of bodies left underground and the total death toll were unclear at the time of publication.
"Community members descended with a cage operated by specialists from Mine Rescue Services (MRS)," Qankase told News24.
He said residents visited the site every day since October 2024 and highlighted the desperation among miners as they vied for space inside the rescue cage.
Those who surfaced over the last two months were frail and starving. Several claimed they ate toothpaste and salt to survive. Some even admitted eating cockroaches.
Qankase criticised government for its slow response in the saga.
He said the families of the miners were devastated and wanted their loved ones to resurface, dead or alive.
"This is the most tragic incident in the history of mining in our country. The laws clearly state that accountability is required for every death."
Qankase felt that if rescues were conducted sooner, more lives would have been saved.
One man, Menzi Mcebisi, observed the rescue mission from a distance along with fellow members of the community.
He struggled to hold back tears as he tried to recall the last time he saw his nephew, Sinothemba Mcebisi, who went underground in September last year with other residents at Shaft 11.
"I have never been myself since my nephew entered the shaft. I pray daily for his safe return. I desperately hope he is among the living and will come home," he said.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5663715&forum_id=2#48551701)