5 dead bodies, 4 men and a woman, were recovered from the abandoned gold mining is Roodepoort, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Paramedics still welcome the possibility that they may still be miners trapped inside.
A week ago, about 20 miners were rescued from being trapped in disused mining sites in Roodepoort. They had to face several charges concerning illegal mining.
Johannesburg has several disused mines. Though these are no longer commercially viable, a lot of illegal miners from around the region, as well as miners from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho, are attracted to get inside these disused mines hoping that they may still find gold and important minerals.
South Africa is the World’s 4th gold exporter. However, illegal mining is prevalent in their country, leading to accidents and deaths.
According to South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources, an estimated loss of $506mn in revenue occur each year because of illegal mining.