14 illegal miners killed in South Africa mine collapse

Fourteen illegal miners have died and eight others sustained serious injuries following a rockfall in a disused mine near Rustenburg, South Africa. Police confirmed the incident on Tuesday, stating that officials were en route to the site to gather more information, including the nationalities of the victims.

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Fourteen illegal miners dead at disused mine.

The disaster occurred in an abandoned mine shaft, a common site for thousands of unregistered miners, known locally as 'zama zamas.' These individuals, often driven by poverty and unemployment, come from across southern Africa to scavenge for gold and other minerals in perilous conditions. The sector is frequently associated with organized crime, including assassinations and extortion.

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It’s not safe where they work in any way. So it’s one of those situations where they had a rock fall.

Provincial police spokeswoman Colonel Adele Myburgh described the dangerous nature of these operations, noting that the miners work in dilapidated shafts lacking any safety infrastructure or measures. "It's not safe where they work in any way. So it's one of those situations where they had a rock fall," she told AFP, emphasizing that "they go into discarded mine shafts."

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They go into discarded mine shafts … it’s so dilapidated, there’s no infrastructure, there’s no safety measures in place.