KIMBERLY - Five Ekapa mineworkers who have been trapped underground for days have now been presumed dead.
The mineworkers were trapped after a mudslide at the Kimberley mine on 17 February.
Rescue teams say rising water levels and difficult drilling conditions are making their mission near-impossible.
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, who visited the mine on Friday, will be visiting families soon.
READ | Mining safety under scrutiny as five remain trapped at Ekapa
Mantashe said while rescue efforts were continuing, the teams were having difficulty retrieving the bodies.
“We hope that we can find those bodies rather than keeping the hope that they are alive. If you are away from 17th to today in a mud rush, as a mine worker, I can tell you that I would easily do what I call presumption of death and assume that they are dead.
"The possibility of life is minimal."
He said the chief investigator of mines will launch an investigation to detect the source of the water once the bodies have been retrieved.