The mineworker, who spoke through a translator, told commission chair Ian Farlam miners were marching on the road behind the local police satellite office to NUM's office on August 11.

En route NUM members confronted and shot at them, he said. Two workers were killed. The scene where the miners were shot formed part of an in loco inspection by the commission.

From there the commission went to the Andrew Saffy memorial hospital where miners wounded in the shooting on August 16 were taken. On that day 34 miners were killed and 78 wounded when police opened fire while trying to disperse protesters near Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana, North West.

Hospital executive director, Dr Mel Mentz, took the commission on a tour of the wards. He said 56 injured patients were admitted to the hospital on the night of the shooting. Two workers were declared dead on arrival and one died at the hospital.

"There were so many casualties we had to activate our disaster plan," he told Farlam.

"We had to make another room into a hospital room."

Mentz said the hospital's primary casualty ward only had place for six. Another ward was used as a secondary casualty ward.

The injured miners were stabilised at the hospital before being taken to other hospitals in Rustenburg, Johannesburg, and Pretoria.

Some patients were also taken to another mining hospital, said Mentz. Three patients were carried by helicopter, others by ambulance.

Commission members, advocates, observers and media braved the mid-afternoon sun as they walked from scene to scene.

The commission would inspect Lonmin's mining hostels next.

Comments

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Fri May 24 12:00:12 SAST 2013 ::

Oct 2, 2012

warry

You are paap maal Meneer.
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Oct 2, 2012

Kabelo10

Numsa you are next, if you distance yourself from the members, they will reolt into this kind of behaviour.
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Oct 2, 2012

Mgaraji

Mineworker be honest tell us how you killed 10 people including 2 police, 1 security guard and NUM shopstewards.
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Oct 2, 2012

Cumbersome

"marching to NUM's office"? Was is it not confrontational already? You were striking against Lonmin, why march to NUM offices? That was wrong, but I sympathize with the dead and their families. We must learn from Marikana that mob psychology is dangerous. While some were fighting for better living conditions, others had their different agendas which caused the lives of people. mind you the police who died are humans, family men. brothers,husbands and fathers
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Oct 2, 2012

mhlupheki

why march to NUM offices
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Oct 2, 2012

Papage

"En route NUM members confronted and shot at them, he said. Two workers were killed"

So the Union contributed to the murders as well, how do you kill your own, Juju was right
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Oct 2, 2012

Goldstone

We no longer have leaders but Power mongers

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Oct 2, 2012

Mgaraji

Why is it everytime a black man has to confront a whiteman, blacks fight amongs themselves?
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Oct 2, 2012

PapaOra

Idiot...
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Oct 2, 2012

RobinH

Mgaraji: Why confront one another in a violent way at all, regardless of colour?
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