Three suspected illegal chrome miners have lost their lives in a tragic rockfall accident at an illegal mine in Mooihoek, located outside Burgersfort in Limpopo.
Authorities were alerted to the incident by an anonymous caller who reported seeing suspicious individuals carrying wheelbarrows from the mountains. Upon reaching the scene, officers discovered three wheelbarrows abandoned by the roadside, each containing a critically injured person.
According to police spokesperson Hlulani Mashaba, emergency medical services were immediately summoned, but unfortunately, all three individuals were pronounced dead upon arrival.
Mashaba confirmed that two of the deceased have been identified as foreign nationals, while the identity of the third remains unknown at this time.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the miners succumbed to injuries sustained from a rockfall while engaged in illegal mining activities within the village of Mooihoek.
Police have opened three inquest cases to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
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