Buffelsfontein Gold Mine

Standoff in South Africa ends with 87 miners dead and anger over police’s ‘smoke them out’ tactics

Authorities had refused to help the miners who were working illegally in the abandoned mine
By the time they were compelled to act on orders of a court, dozens of miners have died
The mine is one of the deepest in South Africa and is a maze of tunnels and levels and has several shafts leading into it

By AP · 17 January 2025