Death toll in mine accident rises

The death toll of illegal miners at Harmony Gold’s Eland shaft in Welkom in the Free State has risen to 82, following a fire that broke out at the abandoned shaft about three weeks ago, police said on Monday.

“Five bodies were recovered on Saturday morning and one was brought to the surface this morning [Monday],” said police spokesperson Sam Makhele.

Last week Harmony Gold said many of the diggers had died from smoke inhalation when a fire broke out in one of the disused shafts on May 18.

Since Monday last week, dozens of bodies had been recovered at the mine, making the accident the deadliest ever reported among illegal miners.

Makhele said it was unclear if there were more bodies trapped underground as rescue workers had been unable to enter the shaft.

“It is still very dangerous to enter the mine and only fellow miners had been assisting in bringing up the bodies,” he said.

Illegal mining in the bowels of South Africa’s abandoned pits has long plagued the world’s third-largest gold producer, with diggers sometimes living for months underground to smuggle the precious metal.—AFP