Trapped miners stay underground to avoid arrest
Only 12 illegal miners have been rescued after getting trapped in an abandoned mine in South Africa. Others prefer to remain underground than face arrest.
A dozen illegal miners were brought to the surface on Sunday evening after becoming trapped in the disused gold mine near Johannesburg.
An unknown number remained underground because they feared arrest, an emergency services spokesman said. Earlier reports suggested a total of around 230 people were underground.
Those brought to the surface were checked by medical staff and then handed over to the police. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.
Rescue operations ceased as darkness fell but private mine security guards were stationed around the shaft and police were also on hand to arrest any other miners who came out.
A local source told Channel 4 News some of the miners had emerged from the mine shaft only to try to duck back down when they saw the heavy police presence.
The presence of the illegal miners was only discovered by accident when a police patrol in the semi-rural Johannesburg suburb of Benoni, where gold has been mined for decades, heard shouts from underground.
A crane was used to shift a large concrete slab that was obstructing the shaft belonging to the Chinese-owned bullion producer Gold One, which has prospecting rights to the mine but is not currently working it.
Illegal mining of abandoned shafts is common in South Africa, where informal miners excavate mineral ore to sell, often living underground in dangerous conditions. Fatal accidents are common, and underground battles between rival groups have also been reported.
Gold One spokesman Grant Stuart said the miners had been trapped in a ventilation shaft. He also said the illegal miners had dug a tunnel right next to it to access the shaft and that it collapsed behind them, possibly weakened by recent heavy rain.