A methane gas explosion in a disused mine killed at least 31 people last month believed to be from neighbouring Lesotho, South Africa's energy department said on Friday. The mineral resources and energy department said it was investigating the deaths.
Illegal mineworkers are often killed during battles between factions, or as in this case, during accidents in abandoned shafts. A methane gas explosion in a disused mine killed at least 31 people last month believed to be from neighbouring Lesotho, South Africa's energy department said on Friday.
Lesotho's foreign ministry had reported the incident to Pretoria, it said. The DMRE said an investigation into the incident with the help of Harmony Gold HARJ.J - the previous owner of the mine, which ceased operations in the 1990s - determined that methane levels were very high in the ventilation shaft and an explosion had occurred.As such, it is currently too risky to dispatch a search team to the shaft. However, we are considering various options to speedily deal with the situation.
Informal mining is rampant in old mine shafts that lie abandoned decades after the country's gold rush. "Harmony said it viewed the incident - which occurred in the third week of May - as a criminal matter and has handed it over to the police for further investigation.
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