Police and emergency personnel at the Rand Lease Mine in Roodepoort. Photo by Nhlanhla Khomola
THE families of two illegal miners, trapped at Rand Lease Mine in Gauteng’s Roodepoort, remain hopeful despite the Emergency Management Services (EMS) suspending the search and rescue operation until further notice.
The two zama zamas have been trapped underground since Saturday, 8 February, and were heard shouting for help on Sunday, 9 February.
The oxygen levels in the mine are allegedly dangerously low, at about 14%.
A distraught woman, whose husband remains trapped underground, refused to speak to the media. With tears streaming down her face, she said she was not in the right state to talk.
Zibuse Memela, the chairman of the Jerusalem informal settlement, told Daily Sun that this is not the first time miners from their community have attempted to access that particular shaft.
Residents of Jerusalem informal settlement remain hopeful that the illegal miners will resurface unharmed. Phot by Nhlanhla Khomola
“They tried several times and failed. They tried again this weekend, and after two had gone down, they realised they couldn’t make it up. I’m told other illegal miners tried to rescue them, but it was impossible. That’s when I was informed, and the police were notified,” he said.
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EMS spokesman Robert Mulaudzi addressed the media, explaining that the search and rescue operation was called off for now due to safety concerns.
“We went down 70 metres; we reached the platform where there’s a hole leading to makeshift stairs, but that area is extremely dangerous for the rescuers, which led to the decision to terminate the operation. We are looking at other options to see if we can access the site using different routes, but with the maps we have, that’s the only area we can safely enter,” he said.
“We’ve been told we might get further information from the community, so for now, we’ve decided to stop. We will try to find another way to locate the other manhole that they might have been using, and from there, we can assess if we can access the same shaft from the other side.”
An emergency services vehicle at the Rand Lease Mine in Roodepoort. Photo by Nhlanhla Khomola.
Mulaudzi further said that during their operation on Monday, 10 February, no voices from the trapped miners were detected underground.
“At the moment, there’s no response or any voices like we heard yesterday when we were here. We couldn’t reach their location because of the obstruction, which is also dangerous for the rescuers. We don’t know what might happen if we attempt to push through that area,” he said.
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