'Unfolding Massacre': Union Blames South African Govt For Stilfontein Mine Deaths

The South African government is being backlash for its crackdown on illegal mining, which cut off food and water to hundreds of miners trapped underground. At least 78 bodies have been recovered from a mine shaft this week.

South Africa's Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) called the deaths at the Stilfontein mine, located about 97 miles southwest of Johannesburg, an "unfolding massacre," as per the official statement shared on Wednesday.

The union stated that many of the miners, including undocumented workers from Mozambique and other Southern African countries, were abandoned and left to die in what they described as a horrific example of state negligence.

"This massacre reflects the South African government's failure to uphold the most basic tenet of our Constitution: the right to life. The Constitution guarantees this right to everyone within our borders, regardless of their nationality or legal status," the statement mentioned.

It added, "To allow anyone—be they citizens or undocumented immigrants—to starve to death in the depths of the earth is a direct violation of this principle and the state's constitutional responsibility to protect life."

The union further said that it is shocking that the South African government allowed the situation to get this bad. While the miners were involved in illegal mining due to extreme poverty and desperation, their actions should not have led to death by starvation.

The government's harsh and indifferent response, including statements from the Minister in the Presidency comparing the operation to "smoking them out," shows a disturbing lack of respect for human life.

The slow response to rescue the miners, along with videos of government officials overseeing their removal, suggest that their actions were intentional and amount to state-sanctioned murder.

Rescue teams continued searching for survivors on Wednesday, following a court order to assist the miners. A police spokesperson reported that at least 166 people had been rescued from the abandoned shaft, while over 100 others are believed to have died from hunger and dehydration underground.

Last month, Police rescued at least 153 illegal miners during an operation at the abandoned South Mine in Sabie, Mpumalanga. The four-day operation also resulted in the recovery of three bodies.