Police in Malipsdrift open Inquest case after two illegal miners died

POLOKWANE – Police in Malipsdrift outside Lebowakgomo have opened a case of Inquest after two illegal miners were allegedly killed when a mixture of rock and soil collapsed on them, while manually mining chrome at ga-Makgoba Village on Tuesday, 18 February 2020.

Police were called and on arrival, the body of one of the illegal miners was partially submerged under the soil. The Rescue and Medical Emergency Services were then summoned to the scene and assisted in retrieving the body. The remaining illegal miner was completely covered by the soil and it took hours before his body could be retrieved.

The deceased was identified as Jeremiah Serota aged 49 and Freddy Ngwenyama aged 41, both from ga-Makgoba village.

The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba has warned all community members to desist from engaging in illegal mining as this is against the law and also hazardous.