By Wednesday (4/12), seven bodies had been lifted out of shafts following communication from illegal miners to representatives of the Mahlasedi Foundation. It’s been delivering humanitarian aid to the zama-zamas underground and facilitating their safe exit.

A total of 26 illegal miners resurfaced between Tuesday and Wednesday as part of Operation Vala Umgodi, said North West police spokesperson Sabata Mokgwabone, including 14 Mozambicans, eleven Basotho, and one South African.

Since the operation began in early November, seven bodies have been recovered.

Community leader Thembile Botman, who has been closely involved in the process, said a letter from miners underground requested urgent help for critically ill accomplices to avoid further deaths.

“The miners asked us to prioritise retrieving bodies as they were decomposing and creating unbearable conditions underground … We are using a rope system to retrieve them, but this is both slow and challenging,” said Botman.

He relayed a message from zama-zamas that ropes used to recover decomposed bodies cannot then be used to help the living. “We are waiting for professional rescuers with the necessary equipment, like cages, to speed up the process. Meanwhile we are doing what we can with limited resources.”

Botman urged the government to provide better resources for retrieval efforts, noting that the rope system is not only slow but insufficient for the scale of the operation. National Police Commissioner General Fanie Masemola is expected to visit Stilfontein on Thursday afternoon to assess the progress of the operation.

Operation Vala Umgodi has led to the emergence of more than 2,000 zama-zamas from abandoned mine shafts across North West. It’s unclear how many individuals remain underground at Stilfontein.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi mvh