Only 26 South Africans were among the almost 2,000 zama zamas (illegal miners) who resurfaced alive from the Stilfontein illegal mining operations.
SA Police Spokesperson (SAPS) national spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said their operation at the Buffelsfontein shaft 11 that started on Monday led to the retrieval of 246 people and 78 bodies.
Breakdown of the nationalities of those retrieved (since last Monday):
Mozambican: 128
Lesotho: 80
Zimbabweans: 33
South Africans: 5
Mathe said between August 18 2024 and Wednesday, 1,905 zama zamas had resurfaced.
The majority of them — 1,125 — were Mozambicans, followed by Zimbabweans (465) with 200 being from Lesotho. There were only 26 South Africans.
The other two were a Malawian and a Congolese.
The total number of bodies recovered was 87.
“Of the illicit miners arrested nine are still in hospital under police guard,” Mathe said.
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