Tragic Rescue Operation Underway At A Gold Mine Near Stilfontein

Rescue teams have successfully extracted both survivors and bodies from an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, where a growing crisis has left many feared dead and hundreds still trapped, Cape town Etc reports.

As the operation continues, authorities are racing against time to save those still underground.

The incident unfolded at the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine, located near Stilfontein, roughly 140 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg. On Monday, a specialised cage was lowered into the mine shaft, retrieving seven survivors, according to Mzukisi Jam of the South African National Civics Organisation SANCO . This comes after another successful operation brought 26 people to safety.

As the rescue effort intensifies, police and rescuers are still working to confirm the number of fatalities, with reports suggesting that at least 100 miners may have already perished. Authorities are focusing on bringing all remaining survivors to the surface. However, the mine has been a site of tension, with miners resisting exit due to fears of arrest after an earlier crackdown by authorities.

The miners, many of whom had once worked in the now-defunct mine, had been using ropes and pulleys to access the depths. However, police had dismantled these systems, trapping them underground. According to Sabelo Mnguni of Mining Affected Communities United in Action MACUA, the miners were left without escape options, facing extreme conditions in the 2km-deep shaft.