A rescue operation is under way after two SA National Defence Force (SANDF) members fell into a mine shaft while pursuing suspected illegal miners at an unused mine in western Johannesburg on Friday.
Brig Brenda Muridili said the incident occurred during Operation Prosper, an anti-illegal mining operation at the abandoned CRD Mine.
According to Muridili, SANDF members spotted suspected illegal miners, commonly known as zama-zamas, emerging from the underground workings before pursuing them into a tunnel.
During the pursuit, two members of the team slipped and fell into an open, abandoned vertical mine shaft.
Muridili said specialised emergency response teams, including Mine Rescue Services and disaster management personnel, were immediately activated and remain on site carrying out rescue efforts.
She said the immediate priority of the SANDF and SAPS is the safe extraction and wellbeing of the two members, with all available specialised resources deployed to assist under what she described as highly complex underground conditions.
Muridili said further updates on the rescue operation and the condition of the two SANDF members would be provided once more information became available.
TimesLIVE
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