(14 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
North-West, South Africa – 14 January 2025
1. Wide of forensics team members loading deceased miners into truck
2. Wide of an illegal miner being assisted by police officers
3. Police officers at site where miners are trapped underground
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Mannas Fourie, CEO of Mines and Rescue service:
"Yes, we did face some challenges yesterday in the beginning, but there are normal operational challenges in setting up our machines and equipment. Unfortunately, every rescue site is different and it brings those challenges with. It’s a dangerous operation and high risk of where we operate. We’re operating right on the edge of an open hole that can go down approximately 2.6 kilometers (1.61 miles). We did start later than what we anticipated yesterday, but we pushed up until 7pm (1700 GMT) last night. We gave ourselves a target to pull out 35 people of which we have achieved. This morning, we started at 6 O’clock (0400 GMT). We will push down to about 10 tonight (2000 GMT)."
5. Close of forensic vehicle entering the scene
6. Close of the crane pulling out miners and the deceased from the ground
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Senzo Mchunu, Minister of South African Police:
"Ever since we started getting briefings and then ended up coming here physically. I’ve not met one person, either locally or anywhere, who said from the time the first illegal miner went down, I was here counting. The first miner up to, what has happened even today, even on our first visit, even when Operation Vala Umgodi was launched, up to today, no one has stood before us to say I’ve been counting since the first illegal miner went out."
8. Various of ambulance
9. Forensics vehicle
STORYLINE:
Rescuers continued their operations to bring out survivors among hundreds of miners who were working illegally in an abandoned shaft and have been trapped for months.
More than 100 are believed to have died of starvation or dehydration.
Police said that at least 24 bodies and 37 survivors have been brought out of the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine since Friday, but civic organizations and groups representing the miners say more than 500 are still believed to be underground, many of them ill and starving.
Police said they are uncertain how many remain, but it is likely to be hundreds.
Mannas Fourie, CEO of Mines and Rescue service, said that rescuers have faced challenges in the "dangerous operation" and had to start later than they intended due to issues with equipment.
However, he said they will continue working until late at night and have rescued 35 people so far.
The mine near the town of Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg, has been the scene of a tense standoff between police, miners and members of the local community since November, when authorities first launched an operation to try and force the miners out.
Relatives of the miners say some of them have been underground since July.
Authorities say the miners are able to come out and are refusing, but that has been disputed by rights groups and activists, who have fiercely criticized police tactics in cutting off the miners’ food and water supplies from the surface last year in an attempt to get them to leave.
Civic groups won a court case to force authorities to allow food, water and medicine to be sent down to the miners.
But they say the supplies aren’t enough and many of the miners are dying of starvation and unable to climb out because the shaft is too steep and the ropes and pulley system they used to enter have been removed.
Police says that shows they can come out.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ffaeecfcc74641b3b8884e855ee692f5
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in January 19, 2025, 3:05 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
