Country says 31 illegal miners believed killed in explosion in May, only now coming to light

JOHANNESBURG (AP):

At least 31 illegal miners are believed to have died in a gas explosion in a shuttered gold mine in South Africa that happened more than a month ago but is only now coming to light after people reported their relatives missing, authorities said on Friday.

The miners are all believed to come from the neighbouring country of Lesotho.

A search of the mine was being delayed because methane gas levels were still dangerously high in the ventilation shaft where the miners are thought to have died, the national Department of Mineral and Energy Resources said in a statement.

The mine in the city of Welkom in the central Free State province was previously operated by South Africa’s largest gold-mining company but had been shut down in the 1990s, the department said.

PIECING TOGETHER DETAILS

The department, which is the government ministry responsible for mining, said it was still piecing together the details of the accident. A spokesperson for Lesotho Prime Minister Sam Matekane said relatives of some miners had reported them missing, prompting Lesotho’s foreign ministry to contact South African authorities.

The miners are believed to have died in Shaft 5 of the Virginia mine on May 18.

Illegal prospecting is rife in South Africa’s old gold-mining areas, where miners go into closed and often dangerous shafts to dig for any deposits left behind. Fatal incidents involving illegal miners are common and sometimes go unreported because survivors are afraid of being arrested when they inform authorities. The illegal miners are often from South Africa’s neighbouring countries.

The mineral resources department said it had information that three bodies had been brought to the surface by other illegal miners but there were likely still dozens underground at the Welkom mine.