It was supposed to be another desperate search for gold underground, it ended in tragedy. Fourteen lives lost in the dark.

Such a heartbreaking update coming out of South Africa, according to cbinews.tv.

Police have confirmed that fourteen clandestine miners have died following a rockfall at a disused mine near Rustenburg, about 100 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg.

In a statement on Tuesday, provincial police said eight other miners were seriously injured in the collapse.

Provincial police spokeswoman Colonel Adele Myburgh told AFP that officials were still making their way to the site, so details about the victims, including their nationalities, are yet to be confirmed.

This is the grim reality for thousands of unregistered miners, known locally as “zama zamas”, who risk everything scavenging abandoned shafts for gold and other minerals. As Colonel Myburgh put it, “It’s not safe where they work in any way.”

She explained that they go into discarded mine shafts that are completely dilapidated, with no infrastructure and no safety measures in place whatsoever.

Many of these miners come from across southern Africa, driven by poverty and unemployment. While the work itself is perilous, the sector has also been heavily linked to organised crime, extortion and violence.

A truly devastating incident. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims.

Source: cbinews.tv

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