Mine rescue operation suspended

Seven more bodies of illegal miners found

We don’t allow rescue workers to go in an area that is not safe

RESCUE operations carried out in an attempt to retrieve more illegal miners trapped underground at Gloria coal mine near Middelburg in Mpumalanga were temporarily suspended again for safety reasons.

This after seven more bodies of miners believed to be stealing copper cables, were found yesterday – bringing the death toll to 12.

Five bodies were retrieved from the mine’s underground area last week following an explosion.

A sixth man was brought to the surface alive and taken to a hospital, where he was later discharged, said provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi.

Fifteen more people were unaccounted for, reported the SABC.

Gloria coal mine was placed under business rescue last year.

Mike Elliot, business rescue practitioners’ representative, said: “We have withdrawn a team of rescue workers from underground. We have to bring in a new big fan and will resume the operations as soon as we have it.

“We don’t allow rescue workers to go in an area that is not safe.”

Elliot said a fan was needed in order to pump fresh air underground so that harmful gases could dissipate.

A number of police officers were still visible in and outside the mine premises yesterday, while a small group of family members of the trapped people also stood outside.

Police confiscated four bags full of mealies from another group of family members of the trapped people.

Hlathi said the mealies had been stolen from a field on a farm opposite Gloria coal mine.

“The police reprimanded the people who were found in possession of mealies and warned them against stealing,” said Hlathi.

“No arrests were made and no case was opened. We will always monitor that area to make sure that people do not go there and steal.”

He said the police were still waiting for the provincial public prosecutor to decide whether to prosecute the sixth man who survived.

Most of the family members said they were not aware that rescue operations had been put on hold, and appealed to the business rescue practitioners to speed up the process.

“I just hope my brother’s son Lerumo Mokete is still alive in there,” said one of the family members, Mathapelo Mokoena.

Some of the families expressed hopes of still seeing their loved ones alive.

Lesotho national Kabelo Mafokame told the African News Agency (ANA) that his 28-year-old brother, Thabo Mafokame, was among those still trapped. He described Thabo as a quiet person and insisted that he was not a cable thief.

“I last saw Thabo on Sunday afternoon and later heard he was trapped underground as well,” said Kabelo, who was among a group of about 30 men and women who stood outside the Gloria coal mine gate.

“Losing Thabo would be very sad because we were very close. I survive on odd jobs. I will therefore not (be able to) afford to take his body back home for burial if he is dead.”

Another Lesotho national, Pulane Kgosana, said she was waiting to see her cousin Motsamai Ramotete coming to the surface alive.

“I hope the rescue team will speed up the process. Maybe Motsamai went in there in a desperate attempt to make a living because there are no jobs in Lesotho and here in South Africa,” she said.

The incident has brought the issue of illegal mining under the spotlight.

Yesterday, 23 illegal gold miners were confirmed dead in Zimbabwe. The subsistence miners were killed when the mine’s tunnels were flooded following the collapse of a dam wall in Battlefields, about 200km from Harare, on Tuesday.

“So far, 23 people have been confirmed dead and fears are that more miners could have perished,” police spokesperson Charity Charamba told dpa.

“Rescue efforts are being hampered by the rise in water levels in the shafts,” she said.

Police said the miners had illegally entered the mine, owned by RioZim, under the cover of darkness when the accident occurred.

RioZim spokesperson Wilson Gwatiringa said efforts were under way to pump out water so the bodies could be retrieved.

“Most of the shafts are more than 20m deep and the water levels have been rising,” said Gwatiringa.