Second man lifted from illegal South African mine dies

A second miner has died in hospital after being pulled alive from an illegal South African gold mine from which 87 bodies were extracted, the government said Friday.

The man died on Thursday in a hospital to which 33 miners were admitted after a three-day operation that ended on January 16 to clear the abandoned mine at Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg.

“The deceased, identified as Jonny Shingani, was admitted at the facility on the 14th,” the North West province health department said in a statement.

He died from “medical-related conditions”, it said, without giving details. The death from gastroenteritis and dehydration of another miner was announced earlier this week.

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A metal cage was used to extract more than 240 miners alive from the disused shaft and pull out 78 bodies.

It was the culmination of police efforts since August to clear the mine, with a total of 87 bodies retrieved and 1,907 miners resurfacing, many illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries.

“We only have 17 still in our healthcare facilities. We have discharged the rest,” a department spokesman told AFP.

Locally known as “zama zamas” — “those who try” in the Zulu language — the miners frustrate mining companies and are accused of criminality by residents.