36 miners were killed in a mine operation in South Africa, while 82 were rescued

At an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein, in the North West Province of South Africa, rescue efforts on Monday and Tuesday brought 118 illegal miners to the surface, 36 of whom were pronounced dead, according to the police.

Athlenda Mathe, a national spokesman for the South African Police Service, stated that “a total of 118 illegal miners have been extracted as of 4:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Tuesday,” as rescue efforts began their second day.

On the first day of operations, which started on Monday, 35 illegal miners were recovered, nine of them were proven dead, according to Mathe. Furthermore, on the second day, “a total of 83 illegal miners have been extracted: 56 alive and 27 certified dead.”

“All 82 individuals arrested are facing charges of illegal mining, trespassing and contravention of the Immigration Act,” she continued.

Senzo Mchunu, the minister of police, and Gwede Mantashe, the minister of mineral and petroleum resources for South Africa, both visited the mine on Tuesday to evaluate the status of the rescue efforts. Mantashe characterized the Stilfontein scenario as criminal, referring to it as “an attack by foreigners.”

Since the beginning of the months-long issue in Stilfontein, over 1,500 illegal miners have come to light. There were at least eight corpses recovered in late 2024. Many of the illicit miners are said to originate from nearby nations.