Illegal miners trapped in the depths of a South African gold mine resorted to cannibalism to survive after authorities cut off their food supply to force them out, it has been revealed.
Some 324 people were pulled out of the old Buffelsfontein Gold Mine around 150 kilometres from Johannesburg last week, ending a months-long standoff between the illegal miners and the police.
But 78 of them were already dead, having expired after spending months sealed almost a mile underground without food and very little water.
Two emaciated survivors, currently out on bail but facing charges of illegal mining and possession of gold, told The Telegraph the lengths to which their colleagues stooped to cling to life.
‘They cut parts of legs, arms, and ribs for sustenance. They decided it was their only remaining option for survival.’
Meanwhile, one man who took part in the rescue operation told the BBC how he could no longer eat meat after descending into the mine and discovering the rotting corpses of those who had perished.
‘Those bodies really smelled bad… they told me some of them had to eat other [people] inside the mine because there was no way they could find food. And they were also eating cockroaches.’
The shocking revelation has only served to deepen divisions in South Africa over the saga, with some commentators praising the police for their zero-tolerance crackdown on criminal gangs.
But others, including leading trade unions, accused the state of one of the ‘most horrific displays of wilful negligence in recent history’.
South African police continue their rescue operation at the Stilfontein mine at North West province of South Africa on January 16, 2025
An emaciated miner is pulled out of the mine on a stretcher
Some miners were able to walk but many more were carried out on stretchers
South Africa is replete with mineral wealth and mining has long been one of the largest industries driving the nation’s economy.
But the sector has also given way to a dark trade in which organised gangs – as well as desperate undocumented migrants – attempt to gain access to disused shafts to pilfer the minerals left behind.
This problem is particularly prevalent in old gold mines such as Buffelsfontein, where a large party descended into the old shaft hoping to find large gold deposits still left almost a mile deep early last year.
But South Africa’s police quickly identified the operation and in August surrounded the shaft entrance.
Almost 2,000 miners gave themselves up and exited the shafts, but hundreds more refused. The police began reducing their supply of food and water, with media reports suggesting they were cut off completely in November.
Police said it was necessary to ‘smoke them out’, rather than risk the lives of cops in battles with armed gang members underground.
The dire situation was exacerbated by brutal gang leaders who reportedly hoarded the little sustenance that was available, leaving many to starve or die of dehydration.
Volunteers engaging in rescue efforts last week described horrific scenes as hundreds of illegal miners were brought to the surface, many on the verge of death.
Images taken from the scene showed many of the miners – several of whom resembled concentration camp survivors – were pulled out on stretchers because they were simply incapable of walking.
An emancipated miner is brought to a waiting ambulance after being rescued from underground during the official rescue operation at a disused gold mine shaft in Stilfontein, around 150 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa
Illegal miners rescued from an abandoned gold mine sit on the floor as rescuers and South African Police Service (SAPS) officers record their details and provide assistance in Stilfontein on January 14, 2025
South African Police Service (SAPS) officers record the details of illegal miners rescued from an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein on January 14, 2025
A man who gave his name to the BBC as Mkwayi said they were able to fit 13 men in cages designed to hold seven adults, such was the extent of the deprivation they had suffered.
‘They were very dehydrated and had lost weight so we managed to fit more into the cage, because they wouldn’t have survived another two days down in the hole.
‘They would be dead if we didn’t get them out as soon as possible.’
Mkwayi also dispelled statements given by the police suggesting that the miners were refusing to come out of their own volition.
‘It’s a lie that people didn’t want to come out. Those people were desperate for help, they were dying,’ he said, arguing that in many cases they had been starved and dehydrated to the point of immobility.
‘I have to tell you, I am traumatised. I will never forget the sight of these people for the rest of my life.’
The police crackdown at the Buffelsfontein mine came as part of a countrywide operation called ‘Vala Umgodi’, which translates as ‘close the hole’.
This was launched by South African authorities in December 2023 after it was established that organised crime networks had taken over large numbers of old mines.
Many of these gangs reportedly leveraged desperate ‘zama zamas’ – undocumented migrants scrabbling to make a living – to dig out gold and other minerals, often taking the profits for themselves.
Operation Vala Umgodi was largely successful at other locations, and in August last year almost 2,000 people exited the Buffelsfontein mine.
But hundreds more remained in the shaft, prompting police to enact their siege.
Community members hold a picket at the mine shaft where rescue operations are ongoing as attempts are made to rescue illegal miners who have been underground for months in Stilfontein, South Africa, January 14, 2025
Local community and family members of the trapped miners gather during the official rescue attempts near the entrance to a disused gold mine shaft in Stilfontein
Families of miners and activist protest as South Africa’s Police minister Senzo Mchunu visit an abandoned gold mine, where miners are rescued from below ground in an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025
As reports of dying miners circulated in South Africa, civilians from the community around Buffelsfontein and family members of miners began staging protests.
They had even tried to launch their own rescue operation earlier this month, casting a rope down the shaft in a futile attempt to pull miners up.
Police were eventually compelled to act early last week after courts ruled they had to provide humanitarian aid and work with a mining company to launch a rescue effort.
And outrage at the authorities has intensified after it was revealed that one alleged gang leader had been brought out of the shaft in December and smuggled away by corrupt officers.
South African MP Ian Cameron said: ‘If the police did deny them exiting the shaft and they then starved to death, then there’s a need for a serious investigation – not only investigation, but consequences that need to be upheld from the police officers involved.’
He also railed against the police for allowing a notorious gang leader to escape the shaft.
‘The fact that he got away, and the police admitted to it, clearly showed that the police were complicit in something and that raises a lot of eyebrows in a broader context.’
