As Jagersfontein clean-up stalls, pain of missing loved one still haunts family

JAGERSFONTEIN - As mopping-up operations drag on in Jagersfontein in the Free State seven months after the tragedy, a family desperately seeking answers said that the aftermath of the burst mine tailings dam would be with them for a long time.

Eyewitness News has returned to the area to assess the progress in assisting families after the dam collapsed at the diamond mine last September, releasing a mixture of mining waste that demolished the landscape and homes.

Many people were also injured as the mud moved through their houses. 

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Following empty promises by the goverment, the community of Charlesville and Skotti remain coated in waste.

A grieving family told Eyewitness News that they had been left in limbo after their mother was swept away.

Mantele Mokhali was holding onto her son’s hand when a barrage of slim barreled toward her but she lost her grip and was carried away by the torrent of mine waste.

Her son, Kamohelo, stares into the distance at the polluted stretch of land.

He said that his mother’s body could be anywhere.

"They searched the area and found two people but she wasn't one of them. I don't know how far they searched, they just stopped and I don't know why. They've never been here to see me or update me."

He remembers his mother being swept away.

"I remember hearing a loud sound that morning, an unusual sound. I got dressed and went outside. I ran back to go and tell my mom and dad that the side of the dam wall had burst and that we should flee but it was too late."

What remains now is a toxic-filled ghost town, frozen in time.

For Mokhali’s family, however, the ruins of Jagersfontein are a constant reminder of what they lost on that fateful day.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Jagersfontein mine dam collapse: What we know so far