'I feel like I can dig up my child'

The mother of Richard Thole, 5, who fell down a 140m-deep mine shaft in Boksburg at the weekend, is still hopeful that her child will be brought back to her, dead or alive.

"I feel like I can go down that hole and dig up my child," said Nombeko Thole.

Speaking from her shack at the Jerusalem informal settlement in Witfield, Boksburg, Thole said her son had gone out to play with another five-year-old when he fell into the shaft on Saturday.

"I can't sleep at night just thinking about where my child is now. He is all alone in there."

• Zama-zamas prepare to mount risky rescue bid after giant hole swallows boy‚ 5Illegal miners are gearing up to take the rescue operations into their own hands after a City of Johannesburg Urban Search and Rescue team was unsuccessful in finding a five-year-old boy who fell into a gaping hole in Witfield.

Hundreds of residents gathered at the old shaft, including illegal miners, who volunteered to help in the search for Richard.

Thole said her son often played outside, but this was the first time he had gone as far as the shaft, which is about 200m away.

MASI LOSI
Richard fell down a disused 140m-deep mine shaft in Witfield, near Boksburg, at the weekend and hasn't been seen since. Picture: Masi Losi.

"When his friend came to tell us we saw the shock on his face," said Thole.

"I can't cope, because it's hurting to think my child is dead. I just want his body, so that we can bury him," she added.

The distraught mother of three said Richard was her only son and described him as a lovable boy.

Ekurhuleni emergency services have been working on the rescue operation since Sunday.