-
FILE | Community members watch as Senzo Mchunu, South African police minister, inspects outside the mineshaft where it is estimated that hundreds of illegal miners are believed to be hiding underground, after police cut off food and water as part of police operations against illegal miners, in Stilfontein, South Africa, November 15, 2024.
The North West Health Department says the remaining 23 bodies of illegal miners who were retrieved from shaft 11 in Stilfontein, will be buried once all necessary administration has been completed.
Thirty unclaimed bodies were buried today in a pauper funeral in Jouberton in Klerksdorp and Kanana in Orkney.
Seventy-eight bodies were retrieved during the government led operation in January this year.
The South African Human Rights Commission has launched a probe into the Buffelsfontein Mine in Stilfontein, following the resurfacing of nearly 2,000 illegal miners since August last year and the death of at least 78 zama zamas, raising concerns about safety and illegal mining. pic.twitter.com/EvFdkj5VtE
— SABC News (@SABCNews) February 9, 2025
The department’s spokesperson Tshegofatso Mothibedi confirms that 30 bodies have been successfully buried.
Mothibedi says this number is from the initial 78 that they had extracted from the disused Stilfontein mine earlier this year.
“We have also successfully handed 25 bodies to their loved ones and communities, after they were positively linked and matched with our DNA testing. We are anticipating that the remaining bodies will be buried at the last week of June, following all the documentation that is outstanding, including death certificates from Home Affairs,” adds Mothibedi.
Related video | Only 12 bodies have been identified:
