South African rescuers started bringing to the surface a group of illegal miners this morning who were trapped in an abandoned gold shaft near Johannesburg for at least two days, an emergency services spokesman told Reuters.
"Twelve have been rescued so far," Werner Vermaak, a South African Emergency Medical Service spokesman said, noting that others in the group were on their way to safety.
The mine was in an open, public field and police allegedly began investigating the incident after a police patrol heard shouts.
Aerial footage of mine rescue in #Benoni
A rescued miner told officials that 200 more diggers were deeper in the mine, and the exact number remains unknown.
200 miners trapped “@ER24EMS: More rescue teams arrive... for illegal miners incident. Still trapped underground. ”
Some of the miners who are still underground are refusing to come up, saying they do not want to be arrested.
Eleven miners pulled out so far. Paramedics say that one miner is reluctant to emerge from the mine - he's worried he'll be arrested
Heavy equipment was used in an attempt to remove debris and boulders, and Reuters reported there was a heavy police presence.
The miners were first checked by medics, and then handed over to the police for questioning.
Straight from medical bus to police van. #Benoni illegal miners
At of 1:39 p.m. rescue operations were stopped and the case was handed over to the police.
All Rescue operations have stopped and the crime scene has been handed over the SAPS and Gold One mine security. #Benoni @ER24EMS
Check back for more details as this story develops.
First two miners rescued so far. ER24 on scene ready to treat the injured.
