A harrowing situation is unfolding in Stilfontein, North West, South Africa, where an estimated 4,000 illegal miners are trapped underground in an abandoned mine shaft. Reports indicate that several individuals may have already perished.
The dire situation came to light after a community member volunteered to assess conditions deep underground, providing a grim estimate of the number trapped and the precarious state of their health.
Police, citing the danger posed by the mine's unstable conditions, have been unable to reach the trapped miners. Instead, they are working with community volunteers, who are risking their own lives to attempt a rescue. However, police have made it clear that upon resurfacing, the miners will be arrested for illegal mining.
"The main purpose for us to be here is to make sure we assist them to come out, but on the basis of their health condition, it is apparent that they must get something to give them strength to make sure we're at least able to pull them up," said a North West police spokesperson. "Unfortunately, we will have to arrest them when they resurface because illegal mining is a criminal offense."
Since December 2023, the South African police and army, in a joint operation nicknamed Operation Vala Umgodi, have been cracking down on illegal mining activities.
However, the operation has reportedly resulted in unintended consequences for the trapped miners. The Vala Umgodi task teams have been blocking routes used for delivering food and supplies to the illegal miners, leading to starvation and dehydration among those stuck underground.
In the past two weeks, at least 500 illegal miners have resurfaced from abandoned mines in Orkney, driven to the surface by hunger and thirst. The ongoing operation has resulted in the arrest of over 13,000 suspects since its start.