Three trapped Lily miners remembered

Families still want their bodies retrieved

The families of three Lily mineworkers who perished two years ago have not given up hope of finding their remains.

Pretty Nkambule, Solomon Nyirenda and Yvonne Mnisi vanished when the lamp-room container they were working in sank on January 5 2016.

Mnisi’s father, Elmon Mnisi, spoke on behalf of the three families at the remembrance ceremony held at the mine in Low’s Creek near Barberton in Mpumalanga, yesterday. He said the families wanted the trio’s remains to be buried decently.

“We are calling on government to stop telling lies and come help get our children out of that mine. It’s very painful. We cannot sleep and there is no closure.

“They gave us R200 000 [as compensation] but they should know that money cannot buy our hearts, even if it can be five or 10 years we still want our children because their kids are asking questions we cannot answer,” Mnisi said.

When the mine collapsed, 76 mineworkers were rescued. However, the trio could not be retrieved and all rescue missions were abandoned.

The mine has not been able to conduct operations since then.

At the ceremony yesterday, hymns were sung and prayers said as family members huddled together.

Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union president Joseph Mathunjwa told the families that the ANC government has failed all mineworkers.

“If you can check here, our government is siding with the whites who come to mine and leave our communities poor. They care about profit and production instead of our people,” he said.