Process to ID bodies of zama zamas extracted during Operation Vala Umgodi underway, says top cop Masemola
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola revealed on Sunday that forensic pathologists had collected DNA and fingerprints from the bodies and that autopsies were being conducted.
A rescuer places remains in blue body bags on a vehicle during a rescue operation to retrieve illegal miners from an abandoned gold shaft in Stilfontein on 13 January 2025. Picture: Christian Velcich/AFP
JOHANNESBURG - The identification process of those illegal miners' bodies extracted during the police's Vala Umgodi operations is now underway.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola revealed on Sunday that forensic pathologists had collected DNA and fingerprints from the bodies and that autopsies were being conducted.
"Our team have collected DNA samples from human remains and fingerprints has been taken. B cell samples from other family members has also been taken to try and identify these people."
The commissioner also revealed that 1,700 Stilfontein illegal miners were currently in police custody.
"More than 1,700 illegal miners were arrested from August 2024 and are still in police custody. One hundred and twenty-one of them have been deported."