Sabelo Mnguni, a spokesman for the Mining Affected Communities United in Action Group told The Associated Press that a cellphone sent to the surface with some rescued miners on Saturday had two videos on it showing dozens of bodies underground wrapped in plastic.
Mnguni said “a minimum” of 100 men had died in the mine in North West province, where police first launched an operation in November to force the miners out. They were suspected to have died of starvation or dehydration, Mnguni said. He said 18 bodies have been brought out since Saturday.
Nine of those bodies were recovered in a community-led operation on Saturday, he said. Another nine were brought out in an official operation by authorities on Tuesday, when 26 survivors were also rescued, Mnguni said.
Police spokesperson Brig Sebata Mokgwabone said they were still verifying information on how many bodies had been recovered and how many survivors were brought out after starting a new rescue operation on Tuesday.
Illegal mining is common in parts of South Africa where companies close down mines that are no longer profitable, leaving groups of informal miners to illegally enter them to try and find leftover deposits.
The videos sent up to the surface on the cellphone and released publicly by Mnguni’s group show dozens of what appear to be dead bodies wrapped in plastic lying in darkened tunnels underground. Emaciated men were seen sitting near them.
MNA/
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