After body of illegal miner retrieved, Stilfontein zama zamas claim dead piling up underground

JOHANNESBURG – Illegal miners occupying an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein claim that dead bodies have started to pile up underground as hunger and dehydration take their toll on the zama zamas.

According to a note sent up to the surface on Tuesday, they claim that at least half a dozen illegal miners have died since police cut off food and water supplies in a bid to force them out of the disused shaft.

In November, law enforcement intensified Operation Vala Umgodi, with mining experts recently roped in to help bring illegal miners to the surface.

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The bodies of two illegal miners have been retrieved in less than a month, this includes an unidentified man brought up to the surface by community members on Tuesday.

The autopsies of the zama zamas are yet to be concluded but community activists have already put the blame on the doorstep of police.

Written on a clean piece of A4 paper and attached to the latest body recovered, the illegal miners sent a note pleading for quick intervention.