South African Police Investigate Deadly Mine Dump Collapse That Killed 14

The authorities are searching for anyone who may still be trapped under the rubble. Police are now investigating what happened at the dump site. Eight others were injured and "an unknown number... may still be trapped underground", police said in a statement.

The site was being legally operated by a mining company and it is unclear how the miners, most of whom are believed to be from neighbouring Lesotho, gained access. Illegal mining is rife in South Africa as miners, known in South Africa as "zama zamas" ("those who try their luck" in Zulu), try to eke out a living by digging in abandoned shafts or dump sites. Regional police chief Lt-Gen Arthur Adams, who visited the scene on Tuesday morning, said that the dump site was being used to mine platinum and other metals by a local company.

He told local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the "walls of the dumping site... caved in on them [the zama zamas]". Adams said that three of the injured miners have since been released from hospital and have been detained by police.