Kimberley - A man’s desperate search for diamonds on Sunday afternoon ended in a rescue from Kimberley’s Big Hole after he was spotted on the edge of the water at the bottom of the famous tourist attraction.
The 29-year-old man gained entrance to the hole after climbing over the fence in North Circular Road. De Beers is currently putting up a new fence around the perimeter of the hole and it is believed that the man got in at a section of the old fence.
Spokesman for De Beers, Abel Madonsela, said they found the 29-year-old man from Galeshewe close to the water in the hole.
“The man told us that he was looking for diamonds that he could sell. We found him on the edge of the water . . . and he was walking towards it. We shouted at him to stop because he was very close to the water and we were afraid that he might fall in.”
Madonsela confirmed that the man said he gained access to the Big Hole by climbing over the fence.
“When asked how he got in, he said that he climbed over the fence on the side of a local bar (in North Circular Road). We are not sure how he managed to get to the bottom of the hole. He was a bit disorientated when we pulled him up and did not have any equipment on him which would have assisted him in his search for diamonds,” Madonsela said.
He added that the man may have found a weak spot in the fence.
“We started putting up a new fence about two months ago. We anticipate being finished with the entire project by the end of this month. The man may have found a spot in the fence where he climbed over as that part of the hole has not yet been re-fenced,” Madonsela said.
The man was spotted by a tour guide who alerted authorities.
Security guards at the Big Hole and a member of the police’s rescue unit used ropes to pull the man to safety. The police officer climbed down to assist the man during an operation that lasted about two hours.
When the would-be diamond miner was eventually pulled to the surface, he was taken to the Kimberley Hospital.
“He did not sustain any serious injuries although his hand was injured. We took him to the Kimberley Hospital for observation.”
Madonsela said De Beers will not lay any criminal charges against the trespasser.
“Our security company will decide whether they want to lay any criminal charges against the man. We just want to make sure that he has not suffered any serious injuries and are glad that he made it out alive.”
He added that visits to the Big Hole were not disrupted.
“Tours were not disrupted, however, we closed the viewing area for about two hours, from about 1pm until 3pm. Everything was back to normal after we managed to get the man out of the hole,” Madonsela said.
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