JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African authorities on Monday suspended rescue operations for an unspecified number of alleged illegal miners trapped in an abandoned mine shaft west of Johannesburg due to safety concerns.
Rescue teams were able to descend 70 meters into the shaft to a makeshift platform before the operation became too risky to continue, according to an emergency services official.
“The search and rescue operation… has been terminated for now. The reasons are for the safety of the rescuers,” Robert Mulaudzi of Johannesburg Emergency Services told national broadcaster SABC. “A rescue operation like this one, it’s complex.”
The miners were unable to exit the shaft after a pulley system used to enter and exit the mine snapped, SABC reported.
The owner of the shaft was not disclosed.
Mulaudzi said rescue teams were trying to determine other potential entry points to the mine and were talking with community members to assist with information.
Last month, at least 78 bodies were pulled from an illegal gold mine in South Africa after police cut off food and water supplies for months in an attempt to crack down on the activity.
Illegal mining is common in many parts of South Africa. Typically, undocumented miners known as zama zamas – from an isiZulu expression for “taking a chance” – move into mines abandoned by commercial miners to extract any remaining resources.
(Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Bate Felix and Ros Russell)
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