Johannesburg, Jan 17 (IANS): No illegal miners remain underground after four days of a rescue operation at the abandoned Stilfontein gold mine in South Africa's North West Province, police confirmed.
National Police Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe reaffirmed that 246 living illegal miners and 78 bodies had been retrieved from the mine since the rescue operation began Monday. A total of 1,907 illegal miners have surfaced since the launch of Operation Vala Umgodi (Close the Hole) in August last year, aimed at curbing illegal mining activities, she added.
Without providing specifics, Mathe noted that nine additional bodies had been recovered before the rescue operation, bringing the total number of deceased illegal miners to 87 since August, Xinhua news agency reported.
Speaking to the media in Stilfontein, Acting North West Police Commissioner Patrick Asaneng confirmed that no illegal miners remained at the site. "There are no longer people alive and corpses that are still underground to be extracted," Asaneng said.
The Mine Rescue Services (MRS), which led the rescue operation, used a cage equipped with cameras to reach 2.5 km underground but found no additional survivors or bodies. Asaneng said that the MRS would provide a detailed report to law enforcement and the Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources.
"It is based on that report that the government and the relevant ministers will also be addressing your good selves on what has transpired here," Asaneng said.
Both officials noted that the police would continue monitoring the mine as part of Operation Vala Umgodi.
"In terms of our operations, we are going to continue Operation Vala Umgodi. We will leave at a time when this particular hole is closed and sealed and rehabilitated," Mathe told reporters.
Earlier, a total of 246 survivors and 78 bodies have been brought to the ground over three days of rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, the police said.
In a statement issued at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said that 246 illegal miners had been retrieved alive from underground and had been arrested since the rescue operation commenced on Monday at the Stilfontein mine in the North West Province.