IFWT_SouthAfricansTrappedInMineShaft

Allegedly a dozen of South African miners have been rescued from an abandoned Gold shaft, yet hundreds are still in great danger, and remain in hiding, after working illegally.

Adriela Batista

South African illegal miners have been trapped in a Golden Shaft, leaving many in a very dangerous situation. Although many are trapped within the shaft, many of the illegal miners are not appearing from the destructive site due to the fear of arrest. Although extremely dangerous, the act of illegal mining is very common around South Africa, where the illegal miners risk their health and ultimately their lives, living in an underground, abandoned environment. This is a form of mining, where fatal accidents are common, and “underground battles between rival groups have also been reported. All in hopes to find ore, to sell.

The issue began when:

“The illegal miners have dug a tunnel right next to it to access the shaft and it has collapsed behind them,” he said, adding that heavy rain may have triggered the collapse.”

A crane was used to lift the large concrete structure after officials reports accounts of shouting from trapped miners, in the semi-rural Johannesburg suburb of Benoni, where gold has been notoriously mined for decades.

There have been no current reports of death, 200 miners are thought to still be trapped.

HP