Mutasa said it could take up to 45 minutes for the volunteers to rescue one person from the mining shaft. Earlier this week, a resident claimed there were about 4,000 miners underground. Thandeka Zizi Tom, the sister of a trapped miner, told Al Jazeera that her brother should have been back by now. In a separate interview with Al Jazeera, Mathe said authorities have information “that some of the illegal miners were heavily armed”. Thousands of miners, many hailing from other countries, are said to be illegally operating abandoned mine shafts in mineral-rich South Africa.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 17, 2024 16:36 UTC