Stuck in a mine
South African gold miners became cannibals
More than 300 illegal gold miners were trapped in a gold mine in South Africa for months. Some of them became cannibals underground, as two men have now reported. "They cut off parts of their legs, arms and ribs to feed themselves," said one of the miners.
"They decided that this was their only remaining chance of survival". He himself had to eat cockroaches after the first supplies were used up, the man told the British "Telegraph". The police had cut off the supply of food and water to the illegal miners underground.
The background: the miners had been digging for gold in the disused Stilfontein gold mine without permission. There is usually not much left to be found in the abandoned mines, but many poor people try their luck anyway. When the police intervened, the workers remained in the shaft for fear of arrest, according to the authorities.
Too weak to leave the mine again
The police said that the workers could leave the mine again at any time. Survivors describe the situation differently: many were too weak to leave the dangerous mine on their own. As a result, a fight for survival broke out, which led to cannibalism.
Courts intervened to launch a rescue operation. After three months, a total of 324 people were freed last week. Some of the miners were extremely emaciated. 78 people lost their lives. The images shocked the nation.
There are around 600 abandoned mines in South Africa that have become uneconomical. There are large deposits of gold and other precious metals.
This article has been automatically translated,
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