Ekurhuleni - Gauteng police on Monday confirmed they had opened an inquest after the bodies of five people believed to be illegal miners were found near a squatter camp in Ekruhuleni this past weekend.
The bodies were found on September 15 at approximately 1 pm in an open space near the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele explained that the grim discovery was made by a passerby, who immediately alerted police.
"The police went and found five male bodies on the open space. It is alleged that the bodies were brought out from the old mine dumped next to the squatter camp," Makhubele said.
Makhubele added that the bodies were decomposed at the time of discovery and police suspected that the men were zama zamas.
He was unable to confirm if their deaths were related to the ongoing zama zama turf wars in the area.
Makhubele appealed to community members to come forward if they had more information on the incident.
The latest discovery comes months after police found seven bodies, also allegedly of illegal miners, were discovered in an open veld in Benoni.
Speculation was rife that the men were killed in ongoing zama zama turf wars in the area.