Number of miners still underground unknown

It is still not clear how many illegal miners are hiding or trapped underground in Sheba mine near Barberton in Mpumalanga, according to the police.

- Masoka Dube

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdluli said they were not actively involved in forcing the zama zamas out. Mdluli previously reported that 1,000 miners were arrested but said the correct number was more than 500.

"Yes, initially, the private security company working at the mine informed us that the people were 1,000, but some of them ran back to the mine. Remember, this is not an abandoned mine or old shaft.

"What is happening here is that when the legitimate miners were done mining, they temporarily closed the sections and moved to the new one.

"The illegal miners then move into the old site and continue mining.

"So, we are not sure how many of them are still inside. As the police, we did not go inside; we were waiting for the private security officers to assist them out and hand them over to us.