LISTEN | Rustenburg rockfall claims lives of 14 suspected illegal miners

At least 14 suspected illegal miners, mostly Basotho nationals, have died after a rockfall at a disused mine in Nkaneng near Rustenburg.

The incident was reported to police at about 9pm on Monday at the Nkaneng dumping site on the premises of Sibanye mine.

North West police spokesperson Col Adele Myburgh said eight other illegal miners were injured and taken to hospital, while an unknown number of miners could be trapped underground.

“Police are [there] and the scene is still active,” she said, adding the deaths are being investigated as an inquest.

The incident comes less than two years after the Stilfontein mine tragedy, where at least 87 suspected illegal miners died after becoming trapped underground.