South African police are investigating the discovery of at least 21 bodies suspected of being illegal miners found near an active mine in the town of Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg.
According to police, 19 bodies were discovered on Wednesday afternoon of November 2, 2022, and two more were discovered on Thursday morning of November 3, 2022.
Police said they suspect that the bodies were moved to the location where they were found, which is a privately-owned mine, AP News disclosed.
“We can confirm that this morning our search and rescue team went back to the scene and, as they were searching, they discovered two more bodies. They retrieved them from an open (mine) shaft,” police spokeswoman Brenda Muridili said on Thursday, November 3, 2022.
The grim discovery is the latest in a series of incidents related to illegal mining in the Krugersdorp area of Johannesburg, South Africa.
In July 2022, eight female members of a film crew were raped and robbed at an abandoned mine in the area, where they were working on a music video shoot.
The incident sparked violent protests against illegal miners in surrounding communities.
Last week, rape and robbery charges against 14 men, who are also suspected of being illegal miners, were withdrawn after police couldn’t link them to the rapes through DNA evidence. The men were arrested during police raids on the abandoned mine where the rapes took place.
