A rescue operation at the Stilfontein mine, South Africa, has entered phase two, with police saying the illegal miners are being counted and could be brought to the surface on Monday, November 25.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) say the operation is taking place at Shaft 11 of the Stilfontein mine.
Authorities have been trying for weeks to empty the abandoned gold mine in the North West province as part of a crackdown on illegal mining, which has plagued South Africa for decades.
On Wednesday, South African rescue experts arrived at the Stilfontein mine to begin the retrieval operation to bring suspected illegal miners to the surface.
Meanwhile, South African High Court Judge Brenda Neukircher, reacting to an application seeking to stop police from arresting the miners, says police were acting on their rights to effect arrests.
Lawful arrests
“The police cannot be prevented from doing their jobs. I don’t see anything in these papers that show that they are not conducting themselves in effecting these arrests lawfully,” Neukircher said in her ruling.
The Society for the Protection of our Constitution had asked the court to allow the miners to emerge from underground without being arrested, state broadcaster SABC reports.
While the government retrieval operation is being carried out in stages, families of the miners and some worker unions fear time is running out.
"Between Tuesday and today (Friday), no one has been rescued; no one has got any food, water, or medicine,” said General Secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions, Zwelinzima Vavi.
Miners welfare
Police had on Wednesday considered sending down antiretroviral (ARV) medication to miners after receiving a note from the trapped miners asking for medication.
However, South Africa's health minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, voiced his concerns, insisting antiretroviral drugs are not medications given out without a thorough diagnosis.
The trapped illegal miners saga has intrigued the nation, with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa in a national address admitting that illegal miners’ activities pose a risk to “our economy, communities, and personal safety."
He, however, called for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
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