Stilfontein:NW health denies it's unable to cope with bodies
The North West Health Department has denied claims it was unable to cope with the large number of bodies from a retrieval and rescue operation at the Stilfontein mine.
Nearly 80 corpses have been retrieved from the abandoned Buffelsfontein mine shaft, in the North West, since the mine rescue operation began on Tuesday.
The Department says it identified several forensic pathology service facilities, around the province, to accommodate and process the large number of bodies.
Spokesperson Tshegofatso Mothibedi cautioned members of the public and media against disinformation he says is being peddled by some groups at Stilfotein, to discredit government efforts at the mine.
“The Department has identified several forensic pathology services facilities to deal with the expected, sizeable number of corpses as the operation is ongoing. In the worst-case scenario, we’ll be using the Phokeng Forensic Pathology [in Rustenburg], and we’ve got other pathology facilities like Brits and Tshepong Klerksdorp. We are ready to deal with this situation.
“Post-mortems have already started to identify the cause of death, whether due to injuries or natural causes, or hunger as it is alleged. We’re also helping the police in as far as identification via DNA.”
READ: Police, Mineral Resource ministries to visit Stilfontein
At the same time, national police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says only two of the deceased have been positively identified by their relatives.
“As of today, [Wednesday] there were only two bodies that were identified and claimed by their families. What makes this quite difficult is that the majority of those who are being arrested or deceased are illegal immigrants who aren’t documented. So, those who are aware that their families’ members were part of this illicit mining operation are advised to approach the Stilfontein police station.”
As operations continue, nearly 2 000 suspected illegal miners have been arrested after emerging from various shafts in the area.
Mozambican nationals make up the largest group of arrests at 997, followed by 427 suspected illegal miners from Zimbabwe. Twenty-one South Africans, 118 Basotho, one Malawian, and one Congolese national are also among those detained by police.
Meanwhile, Stilfontein community leader Levy Pholoso says, for now, their focus is on the retrieval operation to ensure closure for the affected families.
He says while it’s true that the majority of those rescued or retrieved from the mine are from other countries, they are part of the Stilfontein community.
“The majority of people who resurfaced at shaft 11 are people who reside in our community; even those who are from Mozambique and Zimbabwe. They have families in our community. They have wives and children.”
Pholoso says once the operation at shaft 11 is complete, they will engage affected families to explore how they can assist with the identification and claiming process for their loved ones.
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