TWO men have been pulled out from an abandoned gold mine in South Africa after a court ordered the police to lift a blockade and allow the rescue of hundreds of workers believed to be involved in “illegal” mining activities.
Rescue operations involving volunteers were under way yesterday in Stilfontein, southwest of the executive capital Pretoria, according to the correspondent Haru Mutasa, reporting from the site.
The rescued men were visibly weakened as they emerged from the mine with the help of volunteers. Others are reportedly too weak to be rescued.
Mutasa said it could take up to 45 minutes for the volunteers to rescue one person from the mining shaft.
“Police are seen guarding the entrance to the abandoned mine, and they said that they are here to ensure that there are no criminal activities,” she said, noting that activists have been demanding that officers leave the area.
“They are in very hazardous and in very horrific conditions,” Sebei said, urging for the workers’ safe return.
Mzukisi Jam, of the South African National Civic Organisation, told the Local media that while his group welcomed the court order, it was “disappointed” that the government had to be compelled legally to take action to save workers’ lives.
Amid pressure from rights groups, police called in experts to assess the safety of the mine shafts to help decide if officers could carry out a forced evacuation. But the order by the court in Pretoria effectively ruled out that option, as it obliged the police to remove the blockade and permit the exit of the trapped miners.
Earlier this week, a resident claimed there were about 4,000 miners underground. Police said the figure was probably in the hundreds, adding that the miners faced arrest if they came to the surface. On Thursday, a body was brought out of the mine.
Thandeka Zizi Tom, the sister of a trapped miner, told correspondent that her brother should have been back by now. “We are panicking. We don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said.
