Blocked bridge that killed dozens

As Mzwandile Mkwayi was lowered into the mine in South Africa, in a red metal cage attached to an overhead hoist, the first thing that struck him was the smell.

“Let me tell you something,” he told the BBC, “those bodies smelled bad.”

When he got home later that day, he told his wife that he could not eat the meat she had cooked.

“When I talked to the miners, they told me that some of them had to eat other (people) inside the mine because there was no food to be found. And they were also eating cockroaches,” he said in a phone call. from his house

Other miners who were rescued in December also alleged that the miners resorted to eating human flesh in order to survive, in statements submitted to the High Court.

Mkwayi, an ex-convict, popularly known as Shasha, lives in Khuma township near the disused Stilfontein mine. The 36-year-old, who had served seven years in prison for theft, offered to go down to help with the rescue work.

“I am being rehabilitated by correctional services and I volunteered because people in our community were looking for help for their children and siblings.

“The rescue company said they didn’t want anyone down. So my friend Mandla and I agreed to volunteer to help revive our brothers and bring in the dead.”

But even if he wanted to help, the 25-minute journey down the 2 km (1.2 mile) deep shaft filled him with terror.

The crane occasionally stopped and started, leaving it hanging in the dark. Once he got down to the mine, he was shocked by what he saw.

“There were many bodies, over 70 bodies and about 200 people who were dehydrated.

“I felt very weak when I saw them, it was painful to see. But Mandla and I decided that we had to be strong and not show how we felt, to motivate us.”

This story contains a video that some people may find disturbing.

The miners who had waited months for help were given a hero’s welcome.

“They were very, very happy,” he says.

Miners were stuck there after a nationwide police operation to end illegal mining in disused areas was closed as the industry – once the backbone of the country’s economy – was shrinking.

It was no longer profitable for multinational mining companies to operate in many places, but the promise of finding gold deposits was still a magnet for many desperate people, especially undocumented migrants.

They left thousands of shafts.

In November, police stepped up their efforts at the Buffelsfontein mine in Stilfontein, surrounding the entrance to the bridge and refusing to let food and water down.

Before the rescue operation began on Monday, the local community tried to take matters into their own hands by lowering a rope down the shaft to try to pull some of the men out.

They also sent messages and told the miners that help was coming.

“So when we got there, they were already waiting for the crane. Now when they see us, they see us as their president, as their messiah: to help them get out of the hole and into the hole.”

Police say the illegal miners were always able to get out on their own, but refused because they feared arrest. But Mkwayi disagrees: “It’s a lie that people didn’t want to come out. Those people were desperate for help, they were dying.”

While in the mine on Tuesday, the BBC saw dozens of men rescued.

They appeared emaciated, their bones visible through their clothes. Some could barely walk and had to be helped by medical staff.

In statements filed in the High Court, the illegal miners describe in graphic detail the slow and painful death of their fellow miners. They say many died of hunger.

“From September to October 2024, there was a complete lack of basic sustenance, and survival became a daily battle against starvation,” said one miner.

Mkwayi says the men he rescued were so weak that he can only hold 13 of those rescue cages, which are supposed to carry seven healthy adults.

“They were very dehydrated and had lost weight, so we managed to get more into the cage, because they wouldn’t survive another two days down the hole. They would have died if we didn’t get them out as soon as possible. .”

Volunteers were also responsible for bringing the dead.

“The rescue services gave us bags and told us to put the bodies in them and take them to the cage we made with the help of some miners.”

The rescue operation was originally supposed to last a week, but after just three days, volunteers said that no one was trapped underground.

Authorities sent a camera down the shaft for a final sweep. They say that now the mine will be permanently closed.

But the experience has had a profound effect on Mkwayi.

At one point in the call he asks to repeat a question, explaining that his hearing has been damaged since he went down into the mine, presumably due to the pressure.

But the strongest impact has been seen.

“I have to tell you, I’m traumatized. I’ll never forget seeing these people for the rest of my life.”

For activists and unions that support the community, the death of 87 people in the mine is a “massacre” by the authorities.

The use of the emotional word has drawn comparisons Police shot dead 34 miners during strike in Marikana150 kilometers (93 miles) from Stilfontein in 2012.

But this time no trigger came out. Instead, it appears that many men starved to death.

Authorities reject the idea that they were responsible.

The government began a crackdown on illegal mining in December 2023 through Operation Vala Umgodi (meaning “close the hole” in isiZulu).

Abandoned mines were taken over by gangs, often led by ex-workers, who sold what they could find on the black market.

People were forced into this illegal trade, either by force or voluntarily, and had to spend months digging for minerals underground. The government says illegal mining cost the South African economy $3.2 billion (£2.6 billion) in 2024 alone.

As part of the police operation, entry points to several disused mines were blocked, along with food and water supplies, in a bid to drive out illegal miners, known locally as zama zamas (“take the risk”).

While Vala Umgodi was a huge success in other provinces, the old Buffelsfontein gold mine presented a unique challenge.

Before the police operation, most miners could only get underground through a pulley system operated by people on the surface.

But then the upper part of the mine was abandoned when security officials arrived in large numbers in August, leaving those inside the mine stranded.

Community members then helped, pulling some people up using ropes, but it was a long and arduous process.

Other difficult and dangerous exits were available and a total of almost 2,000 surfaced – most were arrested and remain in police custody.

It is not clear why others did not come out – they could have been too weak or they were being threatened by gang members in the mine – but they remained in critical condition.

Of the 87 dead, only two have been identified, police said Thursday, adding that the process was complicated by the fact that many were undocumented migrants.

“We think the government has blood on its hands,” Magnificent Mndebele of Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) told the BBC.

He argued that the miners were not given any warning about what was going to happen before the police operation began.

In the past two months, Macua has been involved in several legal battles to force the government to first allow the supplies and then carry out a rescue operation.

Blaming the government echoes previous statements by families who said authorities killed their loved ones.

They took a hard line since the operation intensified. In November, a minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, made the now infamous statement at a press conference that they were being “burned”.

The state refused to send food or anyone to help recover the miners, and abandoned the cave after several successful court applications.

In November, small portions of instant corn and water came down the hole, but in a court statement, one of the miners said it was not enough for the hundreds of men below, many of whom were too weak to even chew and swallow. they

More food was delivered in December, but again it could not sustain the men.

While the operation to raise the men and the corpses took just three days, what is difficult for Mr Mndebele is to understand why this could not have been done sooner, when it was clear there was a problem.

“We are disappointed by our government, frankly, because this help has come too late.”

Although the government has not formally responded to these accusations, the police have vowed to continue with wider operations to clear disused mines until May this year.

Speaking to reporters in Stilfontein on Tuesday, Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe was unapologetic. The government has said that it will intensify the fight against illegal mining, which it considered a crime and an “attack on the economy”.

On Thursday, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was a little more conciliatory.

“I understand and accept that this is an emotional issue. Everyone wants to be judged… but it would help all South Africans to wait for the pathologists to do their work and finish,” he said.

The police have defended their actions, saying that giving food to the miners would “allow crime to grow”.

Illegal miners have been accused of encouraging crime in the communities where they operate.

There have been numerous stories in the local media linking zama loads to various rapes and murders.

But for Mkwayi, who risked his own safety to help the miners, the men at the Stilfontein mine were trying to make a living.

“People descended 2km with a rope and risked their lives to put food on the table for their families.”

He said the government wants to issue licenses to artisanal miners who are forced to turn to unused mines due to South Africa’s high unemployment rate.

“If your kids are hungry, you won’t think twice about going down there because you have to feed them. You’ll risk your life to put food on the table.”