The final resting place for five-year-old Richard Thole will be the disused mine shaft he fell into weeks ago near the Jerusalem informal settlement on Gauteng’s East Rand.
The family have been informed by Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina that recovery missions have been permanently called off.
Thole‚ who fell down a 140-meter-deep mine shaft‚ is believed to have been playing with his friend near the mine when he fell to his death.
The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) was called by Masina to assist in the recovery of the body after Mine Rescue Services were unsuccessful in their recovery operations.
After evaluating the disused mine shaft‚ a report concluded that more lives would be lost should the recovery operations continue.
“The report provided sufficient evidence that there is a possibility of losing more people in the attempt to recover the body‚ as going down further into the shaft poses a greater risk of the ground caving in‚” Masina’s office said in a statement.
The statement further says that the SANDF has now tasked research and development officers to engage the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to investigate new technologies to address future incidents.
Authorities call off the search for boy who fell down mine shaft
The final resting place for five-year-old Richard Thole will be the disused mine shaft he fell into weeks ago near the Jerusalem informal settlement on Gauteng’s East Rand.
The family have been informed by Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina that recovery missions have been permanently called off.
Thole‚ who fell down a 140-meter-deep mine shaft‚ is believed to have been playing with his friend near the mine when he fell to his death.
The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) was called by Masina to assist in the recovery of the body after Mine Rescue Services were unsuccessful in their recovery operations.
After evaluating the disused mine shaft‚ a report concluded that more lives would be lost should the recovery operations continue.
“The report provided sufficient evidence that there is a possibility of losing more people in the attempt to recover the body‚ as going down further into the shaft poses a greater risk of the ground caving in‚” Masina’s office said in a statement.
The statement further says that the SANDF has now tasked research and development officers to engage the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to investigate new technologies to address future incidents.
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