Survivors of a mining disaster in South Africa claim colleagues turned to cannibalism after being cut off from food and water by police
These miners were digging in an old gold mine when things went south. They were stuck nearly a mile down, and it all started when the cops tried to push them out by blocking their food and water. One survivor said they had to cut off parts of their own bodies to eat. It’s pretty grim.
The two survivors didn’t go that route, though. Instead, they munched on cockroaches to get by. They had entered the mine back in July 2024 and finally made it out in December.
Before all this chaos, they were making decent money, around £400 a month, but then the police cracked down on their operations. Last week, rescuers found 78 bodies and saved 246 people from the mine.
The government is really trying to clamp down on these illegal mining operations, calling them criminal gangs. They thought cutting off supplies would force the miners to come out, but many were too weak or scared to leave.
So far, over 1,300 miners have come out and faced court. It’s a real mess, and the sight of skeletal survivors has sparked outrage. People are blaming the police for what they’re calling a “massacre.”
And then there’s the mining minister, who said it’s not the state’s fault if people choose to stay in a dangerous place like that. It’s a tough situation all around, and it’s hard to wrap your head around what these miners went through.
