Some have been rescued from the disused mine in Langlaagte but an unknown number remain trapped, police spokesman Capt. Kay Makhubele told Anadolu Agency.
“Three illegal miners were rescued this morning and several others are still trapped underneath,” he said. Rescue workers remain searching for other miners who have been missing since Wednesday.
“Those rescued will be charged with illegal mining,” Makhubele said.
Police said they did not know how many were trapped underground, explaining that around a dozen family members who went searching for the missing men are also feared to be missing.
It is illegal in South Africa to mine without a government license or to enter an abandoned mine shaft.
Family members and friends gathered at the entrance to the disused mine to the west of Johannesburg city center. “My brother came here on Wednesday and he has since been missing,” a middle-aged man who only gave his name as Gift said.
Hundreds of illegal miners risk their lives daily to enter closed gold mine shafts scattered across Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city.
The illegal miners are mainly unemployed migrants from neighboring countries.
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