43 bodies recovered from Stilfontein mine in last two days

STILFONTEIN - A total of 43 dead bodies have been recovered from an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein in the past two days.

The recovery of the remains of illegal miners comes as mine rescue teams kick off an intense operation to retrieve zama zamas occupying Shaft 11 of the Buffelsfontein gold mine.

Phase 3 of the operation includes sending a cage down the shaft to bring the illegal miners back up to surface.

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It's part of government’s efforts to shut down an illicit mining network in the area.

More than 90 illegal miners have been brought up alive since Monday.

National police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe said: "All that are alive have been arrested and they are facing charges of mining, trespassing and contravention of the Immigration Act. Two illegals who were found in possession of gold have also been charged with being in possession of gold-bearing material."

Leader of the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA), Mametlwe Sebei, said that he wass worried that the number of deaths may still rise substantially.

"Just in terms of the way forward, obviously, for now we are focused on the rescue but also in terms of ensuring that those that are still alive get medical attention, proper treatment and those that have, unfortunately, lost their lives, their bodies are reunited with their loved ones."