At least 14 artisanal miners killed in collapse at an illicit mine in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG — At least 14 artisanal miners died and eight were injured when the walls of a mine in South Africa caved in on them, police said Tuesday.

North West provincial police commissioner Lt. Gen. Arthur Adams said a search was ongoing and it was not yet clear if there were more victims. Sniffer dogs and specialized equipment were deployed to search for any others trapped underground.

Police said the cave-in happened Monday night while the miners were operating illicitly near the city of Rustenburg, a hub for platinum mining in South Africa about 130 kilometers (80 miles) northwest of Johannesburg.

Tens of thousands of artisanal miners work illegally in South African gold and platinum mines that are no longer used by mining companies, or dig their own mines to search for deposits. They often operate without proper safety equipment and sometimes stay underground for weeks.

South Africa has the largest platinum reserves in the world.

Three of the miners injured in the collapse were released from a hospital and placed under arrest on suspicion of illegal mining. The five others who were hurt remained in the hospital under police guard, Adams said. Most of the miners who died appeared to be nationals of the neighboring country of Lesotho, police said in a separate statement.

Illegal mining is a deep problem in South Africa and is connected to criminal syndicates, according to authorities. The informal miners are renowned and known as zama zamas, which translates loosely as “chance takers.”

They often operate in gangs that fight violent battles with rivals and are accused of terrorizing local communities.

South Africa’s most recent major disaster involving illegal mining was in late 2024, when hundreds of miners became trapped underground at a gold mine that had been surrounded by police.

The standoff lasted months and more than 80 miners died underground, according to authorities.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took the unusual step earlier this year of deploying soldiers on the streets in a yearlong operation to combat organized crime, with illegal mining one of the focuses of the operation.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa