14 Dead, Scores Hurt After Rockfall at Disused South African Mine Near Rustenburg
Fourteen illegal miners have died after a rockfall at a disused mine near Rustenburg, South African police said on Tuesday. Scores of others were injured,
Fourteen illegal miners have died after a rockfall at a disused mine near Rustenburg, South African police said on Tuesday. Scores of others were injured, and officers said some miners may still be trapped underground.
The incident took place in Nkaneng, close to the platinum-mining town of Rustenburg in North West province, about 100 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg. Police said eight injured miners had been taken to hospital. The scene remained active as officers and senior provincial officials headed to the site.
Police confirm deaths at Nkaneng
North West police spokesperson Colonel Adele Myburgh said the dead were mostly Basotho miners. She said the deaths occurred during a rockfall at the abandoned shaft. “Fourteen illegal miners, mostly Basothos, died during a rockfall,” she said.
Police did not immediately give further details on what triggered the collapse. The provincial police commissioner was on the way to the mine, and authorities were still assessing the scale of the incident. The number of miners possibly stuck below ground remained unknown.
Illegal mining remains a deep problem
South Africa has long struggled with illegal mining, where thousands of unregistered miners, known locally as zama zamas, enter abandoned gold and platinum mines to search for leftover ore. They often work without safety gear, sometimes staying underground for weeks at a time.
The danger is constant. Old shafts can collapse without warning, and these sites often sit far from quick emergency response. Rustenburg sits in one of the world’s biggest platinum regions, which has also made disused mines a target for informal mining and, authorities say, criminal syndicates.
Officials say illegal mining drains state revenue and industry income through lost sales, taxes and royalties. For miners on the ground, though, the risks are immediate. And on Tuesday, the cost was measured in bodies, hospital beds and an unknown number still out of reach underground.
