Police monitoring situation of 150 illegal miners trapped inside abandoned mine in Sabie
About 150 illegal miners are said to be trapped inside an abandoned mine in Sabie, with six who have already resurfaced and three who are reportedly dead.
The miners were discovered yesterday afternoon when members of the K9 unit of a security company were patrolling around the farms in the area.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli says the security guards encountered four men who informed them that they and others were trapped inside an abandoned mine. The four are suspected illegal miners.
Various police units, emergency medical services (EMS), the health department, the home affairs department, as well as two private security companies, and plantation-owning companies are involved in the operation.
Two foreign nationals, aged 23 and 24, along with four South Africans, have been successfully rescued from the mine.
“According to the rescued individuals, they had been forced by their captors to work and mine for gold under dangerous and dire conditions. Tragically, three individuals have lost their lives while trapped inside the mine shaft,” Mdhluli says.
It is believed that the people running this illegal operation could be heavily armed. This suspicion is further supported by a recent altercation where alleged illegal miners attacked law-enforcement officials, resulting in injuries to a K9-unit warrant officer and the fatal shooting of three suspects.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, says law-enforcement agencies are actively monitoring the situation.
“All relevant stakeholders, including search-and-rescue teams, are currently at the scene, and visibility in the area has been increased to ensure the safety of the community,” he said.
