The bodies of five men who died while illegally mining gold near Barberton were found on Monday, Mpumalanga police said.
Superintendent Benjamin Bhembe said the bodies were found in a search by the miners’ families and friends.
”This [Monday] morning they recovered the body of one miner and they continued their search.
”They later found the remaining four bodies,” said Bhembe.
He said the families ”did not get any help” from the mine-rescue service in the search.
The families continued their search for the missing men after the Department of Minerals and Energy called off its search last week because conditions were too dangerous.
At the time, rescuers and the police said there was no doubt the missing men were dead.
Seven miners entered the abandoned workings on January 3.
When they tried to leave by another exit on January 10, they found it blocked and tried to dig their way out but were caught in a rockfall which buried five of them.
The other two escaped two days later and raised the alarm.
Pairs of rescuers took turns to dig soil and rock out by hand until Barberton Mine workers warned them the shaft was more dangerous than originally believed.
The department’s principal inspector of mines in Mpumalanga, David Msiza, said 200 people were believed to be using the 400 entrances to the abandoned workings to access the neighbouring working mines of Fairview, Sheba and New Consort, all part of Barberton Mines.
”It appears it’s a very well-organised operation involving syndicates,” he said. — Sapa