Johannesburg, Dec 9 The South African Police Service has announced that six more illegal miners have resurfaced at various abandoned mine shafts in Stilfontein, North West Province, bringing the total number of miners who have come out from underground to 1,420.
Eight bodies have been recovered at one of the mine shafts, police said late Sunday.
With more than 1,400 illegal miners arrested, the police continued to monitor the situation, waiting for more miners to resurface.
However, the exact number of miners still underground remains uncertain, Xinhua news agency reported.
"We have asked those who have come out about the number of those still inside. They are contradicting themselves. Some say over 3,000 are still there underground, while others say the numbers are less. So we can't speculate," North West Police Spokesperson Adele Myburgh told Xinhua on Monday.
The old mines, closed for years, pose significant safety risks, making it challenging for police to enter and rescue the miners.
The police have been monitoring the unused mining shafts in Stilfontein for almost a month, following reports of thousands of illegal miners, mainly from neighboring countries, entering the shafts in search of gold.
Last week, a high court ordered that the miners still underground be provided with food and other essentials, an order the government complied with.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said late last week that the police would continue to clamp down on illegal mining, emphasizing the dangers posed by the unsafe shafts.
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