At least 33 alleged illegal miners have been brought to surface after they were trapped inside an abandoned mine in Sabie, near Mbombela, Mpumalanga.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Donald Mdhluli said in total, 41 miners were rescued since Wednesday and three people were confirmed dead.
"The operation has been halted until tomorrow morning [Friday] where it's expected that the activities will start earlier so that more people can be retrieved," he said.
On Wednesday, Mdhluli said about 150 illegal miners were believed to be trapped at the South Mine.
He said the first three illegal miners who were rescued were two foreign nationals, aged 23 and 24, along with other four South Africans.
"According to the rescued individuals, they had been forced to work and mine for gold by their captors under dangerous and dire conditions. Tragically, three individuals lost their lives while trapped inside the mine shaft," said Mdhluli.
Mdhluli said it was believed that the ones running this illegal operation could possibly be heavily armed.
"This suspicion is further supported by a recent altercation on November 28, where alleged illegal miners attacked law enforcement officials, resulting in injuries to a K9 Unit Warrant Officer and the fatal shooting of three suspects," explained Mdhluli.
Meanwhile in Stilfontein, a total of 26 illegal miners resurfaced at a disused mine shaft at between Tuesday and Wednesday, where an unknown number of illegal miners have been holed up for over two months.
Police said from this number, 11 resurfaced on Tuesday while 15 came out on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, 11 bodies have been retrieved since November.
An unknown number of illegal miners still remains underground.
Approximately 96 of the over 1,000 miners who have resurfaced in the area are minors.
Many claim they were coerced into working underground by armed gangs, prompting investigations into possible exploitation.
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