Illegal miners identified

2009-06-18 14:12

Welkom - The bodies of 50 illegal miners who died underground at Welkom in the northern Free State last month have been identified, Free State police said on Thursday.

Captain Stephan Thakeng said the identification process was taking place at the state mortuary in Welkom.

Bodies of illegal miners started to appear at shaft stations underground near Eland Shaft at Welkom by the end of May and were brought to surface by mine personnel.

The zama-zamas, as illegal miners are known in the mining industry, carried the dead to the shaft stations after an underground fire started in a disused and abandoned part of the mine near Harmony Gold's Eland Shaft on May 18.

Post-mortems had shown that the miners died due to poisonous gasses.

The number of dead grew to 86 by last week.

Arrests

Thakeng said three people were arrested recently in relation with illegal mining activities in the Welkom area.

In one incident a miner was arrested by mine security for trying to smuggle three loaves of bread underground.

The man was handed to police.

In the other incidents two apparent illegal miners handed themselves over to police. Thakeng said one of them was allegedly assaulted underground. He handed himself over to mine personnel who in turn called the police.

"He is currently in the ICU at the Bongani Hospital in Welkom, but we have not spoken to him yet."

The other man handed himself over to police "because he was sick" and was taken to hospital by police. Thakeng said the man was treated and released from hospital.

The three incidents would be investigated by the police task team looking into illegal mining, appointed after a ministerial visit to Eland Shaft at the beginning of June.

"The matters are being investigated further," said Thakeng.

- SAPA