Two more bodies of suspected zama-zamas found in Welkom
The bodies of two more men were found at the Eland Shaft of Harmony Mine in Welkom, bringing to six the number of bodies discovered underground this week, Free State police said on Thursday.
Police spokesman Stephen Thakeng said officers were called to the mine shaft to look into the discovery of the bodies of two illegal miners, also known as zama-zamas.
Thakeng said when police arrived they found the bodies, one badly decomposed. Each of the men had a piece of paper placed on their body with their names, surnames, next of kin, and telephone numbers written on it.
The deceased were believed to be from Lesotho and Mozambique.
An inquest docket was opened and a post-mortem would be conducted to determine the cause of death.
On Monday police were called to the same mine to investigate the discovery of bodies of suspected illegal miners.
“On their arrival three bodies were found with their names written on pieces of papers for identification purposes. The deceased were a Lesotho national and two Zimbabwean nationals,” Thakeng said at the time.
On Tuesday, another body was found, but police have been unable to fully identify the dead man as only his first name was written on a piece of paper left near his body.