In South Africa, the tragedy feared by many families came true in Stilfontein, a small mining town located about 150 kilometers from Johannesburg, where 36 bodies were brought up from an abandoned gold pit after two days of rescue operation started on Monday. The South African authorities, engaged for more than two months in a siege aimed at dislodging illegal miners – called “zama-zamas” – had cut off all supplies to the abandoned mine.
According to Levies Pilusa, representative of the inhabitants of Khuma, a neighboring township, “a letter sent from the galleries indicates that there are more than 109 remains underground”. This potential toll, much higher than that announced so far, raises fears of a large-scale catastrophe.
Weakened minors deprived of care
On Tuesday, the surviving miners were extracted in an alarming condition, emaciated and destabilized by the light after weeks spent in the depths of the mine. “Most of the illegal miners were on treatment for HIV and had asked for antiretroviral drugs, but the police refused to send them the drugs,” laments Pilusa. “This is why we now have so many deaths. »
Deprived of food and care, the illegal miners had descended into shaft number 11, 2.6 kilometers deep, in the hope of finding gold and meeting their needs. For many, the informal economy of illegal mining became a necessity after the last official mine at Stilfontein closed a decade ago.
An illegal activity dominated by foreigners
Of the 1,576 people already brought to the surface since the start of operations, only 21 are of South African nationality, according to Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe. “This is criminal activity, an attack on our economy by foreign nationals,” he said at a news conference. Most of the minors are believed to be from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho, countries neighboring South Africa.
-The closure of legal mines has left thousands of workers jobless, prompting many foreigners to stay behind and venture into the abandoned galleries, often risking their lives. “When the mine closed, many had already started families here,” says Pilusa.
Rescue operations under pressure
Rescue operations, under high tension due to the risk of landslides and strict police surveillance, are expected to last several more days. Each lifting of the steel cage raises the hope of families, still without news of their loved ones. “I had no information about my brother until a man told me he had seen him two weeks ago,” says Zinzi Tom, whose brother Ayenda is among the missing.
Find our file on South Africa
This tragedy has rekindled the debate on the living conditions of illegal miners in South Africa. It especially recalls tragic episodes such as the Marikana massacre in 2012, where 34 minors were shot dead by the police.
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