South Africa’s Stilfontein mine: Videos show dead bodies from disused mine

At a briefing near the site of the rescue operation on Monday, Giwusa management said videos shared with community figures painted a “very dire picture” of the situation underground.

Mametlwe Sebei, president of Giwusa, said: “What is happening here is called the Stilfontein massacre, because these images show human corpses, piles of miners who died needlessly.”

He blamed the government for the policy, which he considered to be a “treacherous policy” carried out deliberately.

The Department of Mineral Resources, which is leading the rescue, told the BBC that Monday’s operation involved lowering a cage that had been lifted up after it was filled with people.

According to Giwus, this structure is designed to hold six or seven people depending on their weight. It goes down the shaft every hour – about 2 km down. By the end of Monday, 26 miners had been brought up alive, along with nine bodies, the union said.

Department of Mineral Resources spokesperson Makhosonke Buthelezi could not confirm whether the priority was the recovery of the dead or those in need of medical attention.

A briefing will be held by the department along with the police ministry on Tuesday to provide an update on the operation.