Maseru, Aug. 11 — Government of Lesotho through its Spokesperson, Mr. Boitelo Rabele says it has been confirmed that Lesotho citizens are among the illegal miners who died in a Rustenburg closed mine on Tuesday.
However, Mr. Rabele says the exact number has not been confirmed but the embassy of Lesotho in South Africa (SA) is working on obtaining more and concrete information.
South African Police Service (SAPS) on Tuesday morning reported that 14 illegal miners have died and eight others sustained serious injuries after a rock fall at an abandoned mine near Rustenburg in South Africa’s North West Province.
At the time, the provincial police spokesperson Colonel Adele Myburgh said authorities had not yet established the identities or nationalities of those involved.
According to police, the miners were underground when the rock fall occurred at the disused mine.
The incident happened near Rustenburg, approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg.
Myburgh said the miners were operating in dangerous conditions inside abandoned mine workings, where there was little or no infrastructure to ensure their safety.
“They enter old mine shafts that have been abandoned and are in a severely deteriorated condition, without proper infrastructure or safety measures,” she said.
The SAPS has warned that this incident shows the dangers and challenges that comes with working in abandoned mine shafts, highlighting that structures are likely to fall where there is no control.
Some Lesotho nationals were arrested earlier this year for illegal mining while others died due to lack of oxygen, food and water following a blockage of a shaft by the SAPS.
Ends/MP
