Since last autumn, several thousand illegal miners have been stuck in the abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein in South Africa.
Now over 100 people are said to have died in the mine, according to Sabelo Mnguni, spokesperson for the Mining Affected Communities United in Action Group.
The South African government has used several methods to force the gold diggers out of the mine. Police have, among other things, cut their assets to necessities.
The local human rights organization Macua believes that the police blockades have led to the worsening of the inhumane conditions under which the miners live.
Macua has taken the issue of the mines to the Supreme Court in a bid to lift the police blockade of supplies, reports Daily Maverick.
Difficult conditions for the miners
According to testimonies from several people who left the mine, the workers live without light, food and clean water.
– To survive, I was forced to drink underground water, which had a strong chemical taste. It kept me alive, but at a price: I got severe headaches, stomach pains and what I suspect were stomach ulcer symptoms, former miner Clement Moeletsi told Daily Maverick.
Another former miner tells the newspaper that some were so desperate that they ate human flesh.
– Some of the workers started eating human flesh from other miners who died, as a desperate way to survive, says Setsoto Mashiane.
Over 4,000 people can be in the mine
By November, 1,000 people had climbed out of the mine, but local residents estimated at the time that up to 4,000 people were still inside the mine.
– The people who came out of the mine were very weak and dehydrated. They must get water, food and medicine, says Johannes Qankase, who is involved in the miners’ situation, to AFP when food and water were sent down into the mine in November.
Not a new phenomenon
According to researchers monitoring the South African mining industry, there are over 6,000 abandoned mines in the country.
– Zama zamas, as the illegal miners are called, is not a new phenomenon. And it is not the first time that the South African government and the police have tried to deal with the problem, says SVT’s Africa correspondent Johan Ripås.