Johannesburg – Ekurhuleni metro has decided to relocate residents of Jerusalem informal settlement outside of Boksburg after a five-year-old boy fell into an old mine shaft in the area last month.
Following rescue efforts that included the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), the city said it met with SANDF officials, the Department of Mineral Resources and the parents of the boy, Richard Thole, on Tuesday where the SANDF presented a report on the rescue operation.
"The executive mayor [Mzwandile Masina], having been given the report, suggested continued counselling services from the City of Ekurhuleni, that all mining sink holes be cordoned off and the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department, together with community ensure that these holes aren't opened," the city said.
"He further proposed that the city hold a memorial service for Richard Thole and that the city manager urgently lead the process of relocating members of the community to a safer place."
The SANDF's report showed that continuing with rescue operations posed a danger to the rescuers themselves, after one of the rescuers lost consciousness as a result of a lack of oxygen last month.
The SANDF said the changing weather patterns, which included heavy rains, affected the stability of the surrounding soil on the shaft.
There was also a possibility of losing people in an attempt to recover the body, as going down further into the shaft posed a greater risk of the ground caving in.
Thole fell down the shaft in the informal settlement known as Jerusalem on February 25.
Masina requested help from the SANDF after rescue efforts by emergency services at the the 100-metre deep shaft were halted as the ground was unstable, and later worsened by heavy rains.