Heavy rain stalls search after 14 zama-zamas found dead at mine

North West police have suspended a search-and-rescue operation at a mine near Rustenburg, where 14 suspected illegal miners were killed after the walls of an excavated area collapsed on them.

The incident occurred at a dumping site where preliminary information indicated that a group of suspected zama-zamas had allegedly cut through a fence and entered the area to conduct illegal mining activities.

The location is where a company had reportedly been granted a permit to extract platinum group metals.

According to North West SAPS spokesperson Col Adele Myburgh, the search-and-rescue operation was suspended after heavy rain made the area too unstable for emergency teams to continue. “The area in which these zama-zamas were killed is very unstable, the soil is caving in and it’s very dangerous.”

She said police had used canine units and drones to search the area, but further operations would depend on an assessment by the department of mineral and petroleum resources.

The incident has highlighted the dangers faced by illegal miners who enter abandoned or operational mining areas in search of valuable minerals.

Ward committee member Thembalethu Dlamini said the suspected zama-zamas allegedly waited until evening to gain access to the mine, taking advantage of the public holiday and absence of the property owner. “They cut the fence to gain access through a back door since the owner of the place was not there. They came with spades and shovels to dig inside the mine.”

He said the group allegedly dug a deep hole and continued working inside the excavated area, unaware of the danger posed by the soil they were removing. “They dug a deep hole and kept getting inside and they were not aware that the soil they were leaving up would come back, close them in and push the wall on them.”

Acting national police commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane said arrangements were under way for the formal identification of the deceased and the conducting of post-mortem examinations.

“The SAPS victim-identification unit, detectives and relevant forensic specialists are co-ordinating these processes to establish the identities of the deceased and assist in determining the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

“Our responsibility is not only to establish what happened, but to do so through a thorough, lawful and evidence-driven process. We owe this to the deceased, their families and the broader community. At the same time, we must ensure that the integrity of the investigation is protected.

”We appeal to the public and social media to refrain from speculation and allow the investigators to follow the evidence. Where criminality is established, those responsible will be brought to justice,” she said.