Bodies Of 78 Miners – Illegal Immigrants Were Found At Stylefontaine Mine In South Africa

In the first three days of the saving operation in an abandoned mine in the city of Stilfonttein, the bodies of 78 illegal miners were discovered in the north-west of South Africa.

According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), as of the third day of the rescue operation, launched at the Stylefontsey mine on January 13, 216 miners – illegal illegal miners were saved.

During the operation, the bodies of 78 illegal miners were extracted, all the surviving miners were detained, the report said.

Operation started after “charges of cannibalism”

South African Human Rights Organization “Unification of the victims of the mining industry of communities” (Macua), on January 3 appealed to the Constitutional Court with the assumption that the Shakhtar blocked at the mine ate the bodies of their dead from the starvation of comrades.

January 13, the South African government initiated a rescue operation after the decision of the Constitutional Court.

In the Macua message of January 9, it was stated that the bodies of 109 miners were discovered underground.

Mine Stilfonttein

After the police stopped supplying water and food to the abandoned shaft of Stilfonttein in November 2024, hundreds of miners who refused to surrender were underground, suffering from hunger and thirst.

The statement of one of the ministers of South Africa Khumbuzzo NTskhavhehen that the illegal miners would “smoke” if necessary, caused a public resonance.

According to official figures, as of January 15, Stilfonttein Mine left 1806 illegal miners.

The police said that most of those who left the mine were Mozambique citizens.

Meanwhile, the region’s authorities reported that the miners were able to get out on their own, and the delay in leaving the mine is the tactics used by miners with illegal immigrants to avoid arrest by law enforcement agencies.

In South Africa, rich in valuable minerals, such as diamonds, gold and platinum, prospectors live, whom the local population calls the “Zam-Zama”.

It is assumed that in the illegal extraction of minerals in South Africa, from 10 thousand to 30 thousand people are directly involved.

, according to estimates, only illegal gold mining costs the country’s economy an average of $ 3.8 billion a year.