South African miners trapped underground: What’s the latest?
Al Jazeera
Officials have arrested a group of 14 people who emerged unassisted, including a teenage boy.
South African police this week arrested a group of 14 people who resurfaced from a gold mine that’s at the centre of a tense, weeks-long standoff between unauthorised miners and authorities in the northwestern town of Stilfontein.
The men were arrested Sunday night after emerging from one of the mine’s shafts or entrances. A teenage boy was among them and bore visible wounds.
Hundreds – possibly thousands – of people, are believed to be holed up in the vast tunnel network, without adequate food or water. The miners are fearful of coming out of hiding as they face arrest or deportation, officials have said.
Illegal gold mining is widespread in South Africa, a one-time mining giant. Thousands routinely search for gold deposits in abandoned mines that are no longer deemed viable or safe. More than $1bn is lost annually in revenue because of illegal mining, according to the South African government.
Authorities have increasingly taken a hard line, cracking down on miners, called “zama zamas”. Police are blocking off mine shafts, in attempts to force out and arrest the miners.
