Johannesburg - Another Zama Zama has died illegally mining for gold dust, his body crushed by rock weighing up to a ton.
Onlookers watched on Friday morning as the police investigated. Simon Sibanda’s body lay in plastic sacks. Yellow police tape demarcated the scene.
It was a scene John Sithole never envisioned seeing. The two had worked together for the past two years and were digging for gold dust-rich rocks on Thursday night when a rock crushed Sibanda.
“He was just metres from me. I called for help because I couldn’t remove the rock on my own,” said Sithole.
With the help of other miners, they rolled the rock off Sibanda’s body. It was too late.
“We wrapped his body in sacks and took him above ground,” said Sithole, his own body covered in gold dust.
As the miners went back underground, Sithole had the difficult task of calling their fellow countrymen to deliver the sad news to Sibanda’s family in Mozambique.
By 10am, an ambulance had arrived. The paramedics unwrapped the body placing it instead in silver foil.
Sibanda’s feet stuck out as the police waited for a mortuary van to arrive.
The Star