Trapped underground with decaying bodies, miners faced a dark reality

As Mzwandile Mkwayi was lowered into the South African excavation successful a reddish metallic cage attached to a hoist supra ground, the archetypal happening that struck him was the smell.

"Let maine archer you something," helium tells the BBC, "those bodies truly smelled bad".

When helium got location aboriginal that day, helium told his woman helium could not devour the nutrient she had cooked.

"It's due to the fact that erstwhile I spoke to the miners, they told maine immoderate of them had to devour different [people] wrong the excavation due to the fact that determination was nary mode they could find food. And they were besides eating cockroaches," helium said connected a telephone telephone from his home.

Allegations that the miners resorted to eating quality soma successful bid to past were besides made by different miners who were rescued successful December, successful statements submitted to the precocious court.

Mkwayi, a erstwhile convict, known locally arsenic Shasha, lives successful the township of Khuma that was adjacent to the disused excavation successful Stilfontein. The 36-year-old, who had served 7 years successful situation for robbery, volunteered to spell down to assistance with the rescue effort.

"I'm being rehabilitated by the correctional services and I volunteered due to the fact that radical successful our assemblage were seeking assistance for their children and brothers.

"The rescue institution said they didn't person anyone who wanted to spell down. So my person Mandla and I agreed to unpaid truthful we could assistance our brothers to resurface and bring up the dormant bodies."

But adjacent though helium wanted to help, the 25-minute travel down the 2km (1.2 mile)-deep shaft filled him with terror.

The crane would occasionally halt and start, leaving him dangling successful the darkness. Once helium got down into the mine, helium was shocked by what helium saw.

"There were tons of bodies, implicit 70 bodies, and astir 200 oregon truthful radical that were dehydrated.

"I felt precise anemic erstwhile I saw them, it was a achy happening to see. But Mandla and I decided we needed to beryllium beardown and not amusement them however we felt truthful we could motivate them."

This communicative contains a video that immoderate radical whitethorn find distressing.

The miners who had been waiting for assistance for months, gave them a hero's welcome.

"They were very, precise happy," helium says.

The miners had been stuck determination pursuing a nationwide constabulary cognition to extremity illicit mining astatine disused sites that had closed, arsenic the manufacture – erstwhile the backbone of the country's system – was shrinking.

It was nary longer profitable for mining multinationals to run successful galore places, but the committedness of inactive uncovering golden deposits was a magnet for galore hopeless radical – peculiarly undocumented migrants.

Thousands of shafts were abandoned.

In November, constabulary stepped up efforts astatine the Buffelsfontein excavation successful Stilfontein, surrounding the entranceway to the shaft and refusing to fto nutrient and h2o spell down.

Before the rescue cognition began connected Monday, the section assemblage had tried to instrumentality matters into their ain hands by lowering a enactment down the shaft to effort and propulsion retired immoderate of the men.

They besides sent down messages and told the miners that assistance was coming.

"So erstwhile we got there, they were already waiting for the crane. Now erstwhile they spot us, they spot america arsenic their presidents, arsenic their messiahs: the radical that came from extracurricular into the spread to assistance them to resurface."

The constabulary accidental the amerciable miners were ever capable to travel retired connected their ain but were refusing to bash truthful due to the fact that they feared arrest. But Mkwayi disagrees: "It's a prevarication that radical didn't privation to travel out. Those radical were hopeless for help, they were dying."

While astatine the excavation tract connected Tuesday, the BBC saw dozens of the rescued men.

They appeared emaciated, their bones disposable done their clothes. Some could hardly locomotion and had to beryllium helped by aesculapian staff.

In statements submitted to the precocious court, the amerciable miners picture successful graphic details the dilatory and achy decease of their peers. They accidental galore died of starvation.

"From September done October 2024, the lack of adjacent basal sustenance was absolute, and endurance became a regular conflict against starvation," 1 miner was recorded arsenic saying.

Mkwayi says the men helium rescued were truthful frail that the rescue cage that is lone meant to transportation 7 steadfast adults could instrumentality 13 of them.

"They were precise dehydrated and had mislaid value truthful we managed to acceptable much into the cage, due to the fact that they wouldn't person survived different 2 days down successful the hole. They would beryllium dormant if we didn't get them retired arsenic soon arsenic possible."

The volunteers were besides successful complaint of bringing up dormant bodies.

"The rescue services gave america bags and told america to enactment the bodies successful them and bring them up successful the cage which we did with the assistance of immoderate of the miners."

The rescue cognition was initially meant to past astatine slightest a week, but aft conscionable 3 days, the volunteers said no-one was near underground.

The authorities sent a camera down the shaft to bash a last sweep. They accidental the excavation volition present beryllium permanently sealed.

But the acquisition has profoundly impacted Mkwayi.

At 1 constituent during the telephone helium asks for a question to beryllium repeated, explaining that his proceeding has been affected since going down into the mine, presumably by the pressure.

But the hardest interaction has been from what helium witnessed.

"I person to archer you, I americium traumatised. I volition ne'er hide the show of these radical for the remainder of my life."

For activists and commercialized unions helping the community, the decease of the 87 radical successful the excavation amounts to a "massacre" perpetrated by the authorities.

The usage of the emotive connection has drawn comparisons with the shooting dormant by constabulary of 34 striking miners successful Marikana, immoderate 150km (93 miles) distant from Stilfontein, successful 2012.

But this clip nary triggers were pulled. Instead it seems galore of the men starved to death.

The authorities cull the thought they were responsible.

The authorities initiated the crackdown connected illicit mining successful December 2023 done Operation Vala Umgodi (meaning "close the hole" successful isiZulu).

The abandoned mines had been taken implicit by gangs, often led by erstwhile employees, which sold what was recovered connected the achromatic market.

People were co-opted into this illicit trade, either by unit oregon voluntarily, and made to walk months underground digging for minerals. The authorities says amerciable mining outgo South Africa's system $3.2bn (£2.6bn) successful 2024 alone.

As portion of the constabulary operation, introduction points astatine assorted disused mines were blocked, on with nutrient and h2o supplies, successful a bid to flush retired the amerciable miners, known locally arsenic zama zamas (which translates arsenic "take a chance").

While Vala Umgodi was mostly palmy successful different provinces, the aged Buffelsfontein golden excavation presented a unsocial challenge.

Prior to the constabulary operation, astir of the miners were lone capable to get underground done a makeshift pulley strategy operated by radical astatine the surface.

But they past abandoned the apical of the mineshaft erstwhile information officials arrived successful ample numbers successful August, leaving those successful the excavation stranded.

Community members past stepped successful to help, pulling a fewer radical up utilizing ropes, but this was a long, arduous process.

Other hard and unsafe exits were disposable and successful each astir 2,000 resurfaced - astir were arrested and stay successful constabulary custody.

Why others did not travel retired is not wide – they whitethorn person been excessively anemic oregon were being threatened by pack members successful the excavation - but they were near successful hopeless circumstances.

Out of the 87 who died, lone 2 person been identified, constabulary said connected Thursday, explaining that the information that galore were undocumented migrants made the process harder.

"We clasp the presumption that authorities has humor connected its hands," Magnificent Mndebele from the Mining Affected Communities United successful Action radical (Macua), told the BBC.

He argued that the miners were fixed nary informing astir what was astir to hap earlier the constabulary cognition began.

Over the past 2 months, Macua has been astatine the forefront of the assorted tribunal battles initiated to compel the authorities to archetypal let supplies and past undertake a rescue operation.

Its blaming of the authorities echoes earlier statements from families who had said that the authorities had killed their loved ones.

They had taken a hard enactment since the cognition intensified. In November, 1 minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, made the present infamous connection during a property briefing that they were going to "smoke them out".

The authorities refused to let nutrient to beryllium sent down oregon anyone to assistance retrieve the miners, lone caving successful aft respective palmy tribunal applications.

In November, tiny portions of instant maize and h2o made it down the shaft, but successful a tribunal statement, 1 of the miners said it was not capable for the hundreds of men down below, galore of whom were excessively anemic to adjacent chew and swallow them.

More nutrient was delivered successful December, but again it could not prolong the men.

Given that the cognition to bring up the men and bodies lasted conscionable 3 days, what is hard for Mr Mndebele to recognize is wherefore this could not person been done sooner, erstwhile it was wide determination was an issue.

"We're disappointed by our government, frankly put, due to the fact that this assistance has travel excessively late."

While the authorities is yet to formally respond to these accusations, constabulary person vowed to proceed with the wider operations to wide the country's disused mines until May this year.

Speaking to journalists successful Stilfontein connected Tuesday, Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe was unapologetic. He said the authorities would intensify the combat against amerciable mining, which helium labelled a transgression and an "attack connected the economy".

On Thursday, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was a small much conciliatory.

"I bash recognize and judge that this is an affectional issue. Everyone wants to judge… but it would assistance each of america arsenic South Africans to hold until pathologists person done and completed their job," helium said.

The constabulary person defended their actions, saying providing the miners with nutrient would person "allowed criminality to thrive".

Illegal miners person been accused of fostering criminality successful the communities wherever they operate.

A fig of stories person been published successful section media linking the zama zamas to assorted rapes and murders.

But for Mkwayi, who enactment his ain information connected the enactment to assistance the miners, the men successful the Stilfontein excavation were conscionable trying to marque a living.

"People went down 2km with a enactment and risked their lives to enactment nutrient connected the array for their families."

He said helium wants the authorities to springiness licences to artisanal miners who are forced to spell into disused mines owed to South Africa's precocious unemployment rate.

"If your children are hungry, you won't deliberation doubly astir going down determination due to the fact that you person to provender them. You'll hazard your beingness to enactment nutrient connected the table."