20.04.2025
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Stilfontein committee wants all evacuated miners hospitalised

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  • Shaft 11 in Stilfontein where illegal miners were evacuated.

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The Stilfontein Solidarity Committee has lambasted the South African Police Services (SAPS) for allegedly being unwilling to admit the recently resurfaced illegal mineworkers in Stilfontein in North West to hospitals.

According to the committee, many of the survivors of what they have termed the Stilfontein Massacre were forced to drink water contaminated by arsenic and radioactive substances while others were subjected to starvation and dehydration for many months and are in immediate danger of refeeding syndrome, which can be fatal.

VIDEO | Police confirmed last week that all illegal miners were successfully evacuated:

Stilfontein Solidarity Committee’s July Eccles says following the rescue mission, the survivors should have been hospitalised immediately, but instead, they were thrown in jail and processed by SAPS, mostly for pending deportation for their contravention of the Immigration Act.

“During the rescue operation, only 25 of the 246 survivors were admitted to hospital despite the pleas of doctors and healthcare workers to urgently admit the rest in order to save their lives. There has also been a report of deadly typhoid in the corpses, which is alarming. The survivors are severely immune-compromised and on the verge of death. We call on SAPS to immediately send all survivors to hospital for treatment and checkups to prevent further deaths from complications of starvation, dehydration and contaminated water, brought about by their callous and deliberate starvation of these people.”

Meanwhile, police are searching for an alleged kingpin who resurfaced from shaft 11 in Stilfontein last week.

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