JOHANNESBURG - Police have acknowledged that they, alongside South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members, are not trained to operate in illegal mining environments.
This, according to Gauteng acting police commissioner Fred Kekana, is because the terrain is unfamiliar to them.
His comments come after an anti-illegal mining operation that was meant to dismantle an illegal mining operation ended in tragedy when the bodies of two soldiers were retrieved from the abandoned mine shaft in West Johannesburg.
The members are reported to have slipped and fallen into the mine shaft during the operation on Friday morning, around 6am.
"There is water inside, there is streams and even mud. That was where one of our members slipped and while the other tried to rescue him but unfortunately it was in the mud.
"We tried to get the rescue team to come and ensure that we rescue then but unfortunately our two members from SANDF lost their lives," Kekana said.
Despite the tragedy, Gauteng acting police commissioner Fred Kekana insisted that the operation was carefully planned to use intelligence.
READ | Two SANDF members die after falling into abandoned mine shaft
According to Kekana, the operation resulted in the arrest of 20 suspects for illegal mining.
The group, he said, consisted of nine Mozambican nationals, six Zimbabwean nationals, three Malawian nationals, one Lesotho national and one South African national.
“When we had to go in and save our members, we managed to arrest those in close proximity.”
Kekana said the charges the group faces relate to illegal mining and possession of gold-bearing material, among other things.
The bodies of the soldiers were retrieved after specialised emergency response units conducted a search and rescue operation on Friday afternoon.
READ | Rescue operation launched for two SANDF members trapped in abandoned mine
This was confirmed by the Department of Defence and Military Veterans spokesperson, Siphiwe Dlamini.
He said the process to identify the deceased is currently underway.
“The names of the members will be released once their families have been fully informed,” Dlamini said.
Kekana emphasised that officials will continue to clamp down on illegal activity, vowing that officials will return to the mine shaft.
"Those who will come back to engage in illegal mining will not get any opportunity again. We are coming back, we are going to clean this whole place, we will remove them not only once but until this place is in a state such that there is no illegal mining taking place here,” Kekana warned.
Meanwhile, Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia expressed condolences to the families of the deceased soldiers.
He said their death will not be in vain, further reaffirming governments commitment to intensify the fight against illegal mining and bring those responsible