On 13 more bodies were brought to the surface by the Disaster Mine Rescue Team that is involved in a rescue mission at the Gloria Mine at Blinkpan, near Middelburg.
These are bodies of people who on Sunday, 3 February 2019, went into a mine shaft where they allegedly intended to steal copper cables. According to information by the mine management, as they work as a collective with police, they indicated that there was a gas explosion resulting in those people being trapped.
Another group forced their way into the mine apparently to rescue the trapped people, however, they suffered the same fate with only two people managing to escape and had to be rushed to hospital for medical attention, where one passed on later on the same day.
The area was declared a crime scene since and had to be cordoned off due to the volatility of the situation. All role players were called to the scene, including the Disaster Mine Rescue Team. Soon thereafter, another four bodies were brought to the surface, today’s retrieval brings the total number of bodies brought to the surface to 18 thus far.
Retrieval efforts to bring up all remaining bodies are expected to continue probably by Monday, as they had to be halted today due to excessive smoke in the mine shafts.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
