The police have rescued 10 illegal miners from an abandoned mine in Sabie, Mpumalanga, with more than 100 believed to be still trapped underground, says national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola.
Briefing journalists on Thursday, Masemola emphasised that more resources were needed to retrieve more miners.
“It must be noted that more resources are required to retrieve more of these illegal miners. We are at this stage looking at what can be done and what resources are needed to save lives,” he said.
“At present we are looking at various resources at our disposal that will assist to fast-track the process. Unlike the shafts in Stilfontein, which are several kilometres deep, police are able to retrieve those in Sabie from the surface because [the depth is not too great]. [Nonetheless] the operation needs to be conducted with the outmost care and precision to preserve lives.”
The police have been leading a recovery operation for the past 24 hours to help the miners who were unable to exit the shaft in Sabie. Three bodies were retrieved on Wednesday, and the operation had to be halted due to a lack of resources.
“The loss of life is deeply regretted. This further demonstrates that illegal mining is not only hazardous and possesses a challenge for neighbouring communities but also carries a lot of danger for those partaking.”
Masemola said police had seized two AK47 rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition from the mine after a shoot-out last week during an operation.
“The members noticed about 11 suspects all armed with rifles shooting towards the members. The members returned fire in an act of self-defence. The battle lasted about 30-40 minutes. The suspects then started running back into the bushes.
“A member from the K9 unit was shot and injured and taken to hospital. He has fortunately been discharged. Three suspects were fatally wounded.”
Since December 2023 police have confiscated more than 427 high-calibre firearms and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition from illegal mining operations, Masemola added.
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