14 Workers Killed in Rockfall at Unlicensed Mine in South Africa

Fourteen illegal miners, mostly from Lesotho, were killed and eight others injured in a rockfall at an unlicensed mine in northwestern Johannesburg, with several others believed to be trapped underground, police announced on Tuesday.

Thousands of unregistered miners, known as “zama zamas,” work in South Africa, scavenging for gold and other minerals in abandoned mines under harsh and often highly dangerous conditions.

Police spokesperson Colonel Adele Mayberg said, “Fourteen illegal miners, mostly from Lesotho, were killed in a rockfall.”

She added, “Eight others were taken to hospital, and an unknown number of illegal miners are believed to be trapped underground. Police are on site, and the operation is ongoing.”

Illegal miners come to South Africa from several countries in the region, driven by poverty and unemployment, while this activity is linked to organized crime and other illegal activities.

Mayberg told Agence France-Presse, “There are no safety conditions in the places where they work. This is one of the cases where a rockfall occurred.”

Around 90 illegal miners died about two years ago after police besieged an abandoned gold mine near Stilfontein, west of Johannesburg, for weeks starting in August 2024, in an attempt to force the workers to leave.