National
Boy (5) stuck in disused mine shaft since Saturday─── 15:38 Mon, 27 Feb 2017
Johannesburg – Conditions are still too unsafe to rescue a five-year-old boy who fell into an open mineshaft in Witfield, on the East Rand, over the weekend, Ekurhuleni Emergency Services said on Monday.
"Today we will determine what measures we can use to rescue the child. We are also in talks with the community members," EMS spokesperson, Vincent Khoza, said.
Rescue South Africa helped with the operation, but the ground around the shaft was too unstable and it was called off on Saturday.
He fell into the shaft between 12:00 and 13:00 on Saturday.
"When we went to his mother, she said he went out to play. One of his friends told us that he fell into the shaft," Khoza said.
Residents alerted emergency services.
Locals set two trucks alight on Saturday, because they were angry that rescue services could not get the child out, Ekurhuleni Metro Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Kobeli Mokheseng said.
They burnt tyres and blocked roads with rubble and rocks. No arrests have been made.
