Methane gas explosion killed dozens in disused South African mine
At least 31 suspected illegal miners from neighbouring Lesotho died in an abandoned gold mine, which ceased operations decades ago, South African authorities say.
A methane gas explosion in a disused South African mine has killed at least 31 people, believed to be from neighbouring Lesotho, in an incident last month.
South Africa's energy department had said late on Thursday that the country was investigating the deaths, which occurred in a ventilation shaft in the shuttered Virginia mine in Free State province.
Lesotho's foreign ministry had reported the incident to Pretoria, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said.
The DMRE added that an investigation into the incident with the help of Harmony Gold - the previous owner of the mine which ceased operations in the 1990s - determined that methane levels were very high in the ventilation shaft and an explosion had occurred.
"As such, it is currently too risky to dispatch a search team to the shaft. However, we are considering various options to speedily deal with the situation," it said.
A spokesperson for mining and energy minister Gwede Mantashe said it might take a while to retrieve the bodies as authorities did not want to risk losing more lives.
Illegal mining
Harmony said it viewed the incident - which occurred in the third week of May - as a criminal matter and has handed it over to the South African police for further investigation.
"We were informed by one of the illegal miners (who survived) that there had been an explosion and that the incident resulted in loss of life," said Jared Coetzer, Harmony's head of investor relations.
Coetzer said the shaft was acquired in the mid-1980s but was closed shortly afterwards due to a methane gas explosion and was never used by the miner.
"We don't know how the people got to the place where the explosion occurred," he added.
It is illegal to enter an abandoned mine shaft in South Africa, but many illegal miners find a way to get there.
Abandoned mines have attracted a large number of illegal miners from both within the country and from the southern African region.
Repatriation
Methane is a highly explosive greenhouse gas often found in underground mines and poses serious safety and health threats to mine workers.
Talks were ongoing between South Africa and Lesotho to retrieve the bodies and bring them home, said Thapelo Mabote, a spokesperson for the small mountain kingdom's prime minister.
A chief in the Berea district, from where most of the dead men hailed from, spoke on behalf of the bereaved families and said he had lost six of his men and was waiting for details.
"We don't want anything more than just to have those bodies retrieved and repatriated, that's all we are asking for," said Makhabane Peete.