South Africa: 'Misinformation and Lies' - - Police Deny Detonating Explosives in Stilfontein Mine Shaft

Union president Mametlwe Sebei said that miners -- possibly dead, injured or too weak to reach Shaft 11 -- were still trapped in Shaft 10 when the alleged explosion occurred.

Listen to this article 6 min Listen to this article 6 min The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (Giwusa) claims that members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) detonated explosives in Shaft 10 of the Buffelsfontein gold mine while miners were still trapped in the shaft.

This follows the police's declaration that the rescue operation to retrieve miners from Shaft 11 was complete and that no further bodies or miners were detected as of Thursday, 16 January.

Giwusa's president, Mametlwe Sebei, said that miners -- possibly dead, injured or too weak to reach Shaft 11 -- were still trapped in Shaft 10 when the alleged explosion occurred.

Sebei said that Giwusa and other organisations involved in the rescue had requested that the police send sniffer dogs and rescue personnel into Shaft 10 to look for additional bodies and survivors. Instead, he alleged, the shaft was blown up.

"Giwusa views this action as a blatant act of cover-up by the state and police, who no doubt did not want the Stilfontein body count to rise above 78. This amounts to interference with the administration of justice," said Sebei.

The union said it had eyewitness testimony from survivors who...

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