At least 12 survived with critical injuries, with the last survivor, 28-year-old Zimbabwean national Joseph Chauke, being rescued on Monday evening, with a broken leg.
Although an illegal miner who wished to remain anonymous told the City Times, at the scene, that 37 people were underground at the time of the incident, only 17 could be accounted for.
On Monday evening, members of the mine rescue team said there were five bodies underground.
A group of illegal miners from Lindelani, in Kingsway, had been subjected to terror attacks by a rival group, in Aurora Mine’s Shaft Nine, just a stone’s throw from State Mines Country Club, in Brakpan, since Thursday, July 25.
They were beaten, shot and pushed down steep shafts.
Ekurhuleni emergency services spokesman Roggers Mamaila said that many miners who were rescued had broken legs and back injuries.
“They are all seriously injured,” he added.
Authorities were alerted to the scene by those who survived without injuries.
Gang rivalry is common in illegal mining in the area and those involved are said to be armed with assault rifles, including AK47s.
It has since emerged that the vicious circle also involves corrupt police officers.
Residents of Kingsway allege that police officers are party to illegal mining in the area.
The claims were first made last year, and were repeated again at a Community Policing Forum (CPF) meeting, in the city hall, on July 17.
Residents alleged that police involvement is the reason operations to clamp down on illegal mining fail.
They pleaded with Benoni’s head of visible policing, Col Thomas Maupa, to not utilise Sector Eight patrol officers when conducting operations.
Maupa promised to escalate their concerns to provincial level.
The circle apparently starts underground, where two groups, known as the Russians and the Swatis, armed with AK47s, are fighting each other for the right to mine.
They rob, kill and hold each other captive.
Then there is another group, waiting to rob whoever emerges from underground with gold.
The circle continues to the veld along Kingsway Drive, in Lindelani, where all the exchanges are made.
There, another group waits to rob those who come to buy gold, or the sellers, and worse, there are those who rob those who rob the sellers.
People are also robbed while they are waiting for their buyers or sellers to arrive.
This is where the corrupt police officers are believed to feature.
“We receive information from community members that this is where police officers, instead of making arrests, opt to take bribes and, at times, even the gold itself,” said Sector Eight Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Kenneth Dlhamini.
Last year, three illegal miners died after the Aurora old mine dump collapsed on them, while they were hiding from “criminals” who wanted to rob them of gold.
On Tuesday, Gauteng provincial police spokesman Col Lungelo Dlamini said some people were arrested for mining illegally, though he was not sure about the number.
“But none of those who fired shots have been arrested, as we don’t know who they are yet,” he said.
