Six illegal miners still trapped in S. African gold mine
Xinhua, September 13, 2016 Adjust font size:
Six illegal miners are still trapped over 1.5 kilometres underground in an abandoned gold mine in Johannesburg, authorities said on Monday.
Christo de Klerk, CEO of Mines Rescue Services, told the media that there was smoke inside the mine and it was risky to go inside.
"We just have to put it (rescue) on hold. There's definitely an underground fire burning. We have to monitor and see when the fire stops or the gas dissipate, and then we can proceed further," he said.
A rescue team successfully saved four miners on Sunday following frantic efforts but suspended the search later. It is still unclear when the miners got into the mine.
On Monday morning, three miners came out of the mines by their own. The three refused to identify themselves but stated that six were still trapped underground.
An illegal miner from Mozambique who requested anonymity said the conditions underground were bad.
He told Xinhua that there was smoke inside and it was hot there.
According to the Mozambican miner, the six trapped miners said they would come out on Tuesday, hoping the smoke would have subsided by then .
He said he went inside the mine on Friday and could not come out because of the smoke.
The illegal miner said no one had died as yet.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Kay Makhubela said they were monitoring the situation and would arrest those engaging in illegal mining.
"Two of those who were rescued on Sunday are in the hospital while the other two are detained. We will charge them with illegal mining," Makhubela said.
The illegal miners are believed to come from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Some family members were still gathering outside the mine, hoping to see their loved ones coming out of the disused mine alive.
According to the South African Chamber of Mines, over six billion rand (about 420 million U.S. dollars) is lost through illegal mining annually.
About 70 percent of illegal miners are illegal immigrants, according to the chamber.
The chamber said about 14,000 people are involved in illegal mining in South Africa. Endit