STILFONTEIN, South Africa — On Wednesday, local police announced that their rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine has concluded, claiming all survivors and bodies have been retrieved. This unexpected declaration comes one day after the police minister suggested that the rescue efforts might extend into the following week. Since the operation started on Monday, authorities have reported recovering 78 bodies and managing to save more than 240 miners trapped underground.
Rescue teams are scheduled to conduct a final examination of the mine on Thursday to confirm the absence of any remaining survivors or bodies beneath the surface.
The situation has drawn intense scrutiny towards the South African government, particularly regarding their controversial strategy from the previous year, which involved denying supplies to the miners in an effort to compel them to exit the mine.
Civic organizations argue that this tactic effectively left many miners to face starvation or dehydration after being trapped for over two months, as the authorities only initiated the rescue mission after a court order was issued.
Government officials maintain that the miners had the option of exiting through another shaft at Buffelsfontein Gold Mine, noted for being one of the deepest mines in South Africa.
However, advocates for the miners contend that this escape would require a perilous journey through the tunnels, exhausting those who had already suffered from prolonged deprivation of food and water. Police officials have indicated that some miners were hesitant to leave the mine.
The second-largest political party in South Africa’s ruling coalition has called for a thorough investigation into how the situation escalated to this critical point.
Following a request from a miner’s family member, the court mandated authorities to initiate rescue efforts last week, leading to the start of operations on Monday. A specialized mining rescue firm deployed a small cage deep into the mine to extract survivors and bodies, although no of their personnel went inside the shaft due to safety concerns.
Instead, community volunteers descended in the cage to assist in the rescue process.
Attempts by police to force the miners out of the closed mine began in November with a strategy to cut off supplies, an action that initiated a standoff between law enforcement, miners, and local residents.
A court ruling later mandated that authorities restore supplies, yet civic groups argue that more proactive measures were needed, as miners continued to struggle to acquire adequate sustenance and hydration amidst deteriorating conditions.
The mine, which descends approximately 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) deep, features several shafts, numerous levels, and a complex series of tunnels, complicating any rescue operations.
A group representing the miners estimated that over 500 individuals could have been trapped underground when the rescue efforts commenced.
Those who survived are facing charges of illegal mining and trespassing, according to police officials, who also seized gold, explosives, firearms, and more than $2 million in cash from the miners.
While the precise duration of each miner’s entrapment remains unclear, some families report that their relatives may have been underground since July.
Over the weekend, a civic group advocating for the miners shared two videos reportedly filmed underground, revealing grim living conditions. The footage, smuggled out by a miner, showed numerous lifeless bodies wrapped in plastic and highlighted the dire state of those remaining, who were seen malnourished and pleading for help.
The government’s earlier strategies, primarily their “smoke them out” approach to tackle illegal mining, have drawn heavy criticism.
Authorities, under scrutiny for these tactics, branded the miners as “criminals” and refused aid, which critics label as negligence leading to a mass casualty. One of the nation’s largest trade unions condemned it as a grave instance of state negligence.
Despite the high levels of anger in the local community, the incident has not elicited a robust national response, as illegal mining continues to be a recurring issue in South Africa.
This practice is widespread in abandoned mines that have ceased operations, prompting informal miners to seek out any remaining deposits. The nation is home to around 6,000 such abandoned mines.
The South African government has taken a firm stance against these groups, labeling them as part of criminal syndicates, many of whom are undocumented migrants from neighboring nations.
Officials claim that these activities result in an annual loss of over $1 billion for the country’s gold sector, with statistics indicating that more than 1,500 individuals have been arrested for illegal mining operations in the Stilfontein region in the past year, largely involving immigrants from Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho.
