A technical team driving an operation to shutdown an illicit mining network sent high-tech equipment down shaft 11 earlier on Thursday.
STILFONTEIN - After hours of scanning for signs of life at a disused gold mine in Stilfontein, mine rescue teams say they've found no other illegal miners underground.Lead rescuer in the operation and CEO of Mine Rescue Services, Mannas Fourie, said the operation had been a success so far.
"It's a huge operation. I think the biggest challenge is the risk working over this open hole. Our people every now and then needs to approach this hole, we had to park this truck right against this hole, so there were a lot of risks that we had to anticipate, challenge was to prepare the site, the weather was also a challenge for us but I think we pulled it off well and successfully and we can say we've rescued and recovered a lot of people.
The mine rescue experts are now expected to compile a report and hand it over to police to decide on a way forward. A closer look at the technical work being done at shaft 11 in Stilfontein. An unmanned cage has been sent down with cameras to detect any signs of life after volunteers told police there were no more illegal miners in the shaft. This will decide what comes next.
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