Decision time draws near on efforts to rescue boy down mine shaft
Wednesday marks one week since Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina wrote to the defence minister to ask for assistance after a report presented to him revealed a need for additional expertise in rescue efforts.
The City of Ekurhuleni expects to receive the South African National Defence Force’s report on Wednesday for a decision to be taken on the way forward for efforts to rescue the boy trapped in a mine shaft, reports The Citizen.
Ekurhuleni mayoral spokesperson Gugu Ndima said on Tuesday morning that the City was awaiting the report, which they would receive on Wednesday.
Wednesday marks one week since Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina wrote to the defence minister to ask for assistance after a report presented to him revealed a need for additional expertise in rescue efforts.
In briefings attended by Mine Rescue Services, the department of mineral resources, the provincial disaster management centre, DRD Gold and the City of Ekurhuleni on Thursday, the SANDF was given a technical overview offsite as well as an onsite assessment. They are now compiling a report for an informed decision to be made on the way forward.
Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (Edems) spokesperson William Ntladi last week explained the five-year-old boy, Richard Thole, fell down the opening of the shaft at around midday on February 25, but rescue efforts by Edems, Mine Rescue Services and the department of mineral resources have come to no avail as rescue technicians confront challenging conditions such as unstable ground, oxygen deficiency from a depth of 36 metres, rock falls and gas emissions from the acid mine water.
Furthermore, on Friday Ndima said wet weather conditions experienced at the end of last week halted rescue efforts as they posed a high risk on the already fragile surface.
Ntladi said the land above the previously closed shaft caved in about two to three weeks before the child fell, and since rescue efforts began, more land around the opening has caved in. The base water level of the decline shaft is at a depth of 140 metres.
While illegal miners have offered their services to the rescue efforts, Masina said last week, “We are an authority so we cannot allow illegal activities to happen unless they work with authorities because we cannot allow lawlessness.” He added they could not put lives at risk as the site was very dangerous.
The area around the shaft has been cordoned off with barbed wire to prevent anyone from going near the opening.
– Caxton News Service
