At least 14 illegal miners have died and dozens more were found injured after a collapse in a disused mine shaft near Rustenburg, South Africa, police said Tuesday, following a rockfall that trapped workers underground on Monday evening.
Authorities identified the site as an abandoned shaft in Nkaneng, roughly 100 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. Police said eight miners suffered serious injuries in the incident. The mine's walls gave way while a group was working illegally underground, according to local reports.
Illegal mining remains a persistent hazard in South Africa, where the government estimates some 6,000 abandoned or disused mines and quarries dot the landscape. A months-long standoff at a disused gold mine in Stilfontein in late 2024 left at least 87 people dead after police cordoned off the site and restricted supplies of food and water.