A rescue operation has brought 78 corpses and over 240 illegal miners to the surface in a disused mine in South Africa. The bodies were hoisted up since Monday, as authorities tried to end illicit mining activities.
The police faced a mammoth task in identifying the victims, with only two of them positively identified so far. DNA tests are being done, but the challenge lies in figuring out the identities of those found, including undocumented migrants whose families may not be aware they were in the mineshaft.
Most of the miners who came up alive were from neighboring countries like Mozambique and Zimbabwe. However, a trade union and rights activists have accused the authorities of overseeing a massacre, while the police say they are dealing with criminality controlled by kingpins in charge of illicit mining.
The mine, located 145km south-west of Johannesburg, has been cleared of both bodies and people alive. Many mines in South Africa have been abandoned over the past three decades due to companies not finding them economically viable. The mine is now under government control, with an effort to clamp down on the illegal industry.
The authorities plan to charge those involved with illegal mining, trespassing, and contravention of immigration laws. Unemployment in South Africa is currently over 30%, and many former miners have little alternative source of income.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxezxy14l6o