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The North West police in South Africa have confirmed that, of the 93 illegal miners who died in Stilfontein, only three have been claimed by their families.
The remaining bodies are still held at state mortuaries, as no next of kin have come forward to identify them, despite police asking for help with the identification process three weeks ago.
Ten bodies have been identified through police records, which revealed that those individuals had been previously arrested. However, 80 miners are still unidentified.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwaabone explained that DNA samples and fingerprints were collected for comparison in order to help identify the deceased.
“The 10 were identified through the police database, which showed they were arrested in Jane Furse, Burgersfort, Welkom, Barberton and Kwa-Mhlanga,” he said.
Mokgwaabone confirmed that one of the deceased was South African, seven were from Mozambique, and the others were from Lesotho and Zimbabwe. He also stated that information on their previous charges was not available and the bodies are still held by the state.
The bodies that have been claimed were handed over to their relatives, all of whom are from Mozambique.
North West health department spokesperson Lucas Mothibedi explained that the bodies will be kept until all efforts to locate the next of kin have been exhausted. Only after that will they be buried as paupers.
Mokgwaabone also urged the public to come forward if they have missing relatives who may have worked as illegal miners in the area, asking them to contact the Stilfontein police station for further investigation.
So far, 45 DNA samples have been collected from individuals in South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Botswana to assist in identification.
