The army’s been drafted in to help rescue a five-year-old boy who fell into a disused gold mine east of Johannesburg.
Angry local residents have been stoning passing vehicles saying the authorities ignored their pleas to properly seal the shaft.
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Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina has asked the army to send its experts to help retrieve five- year-old Richard Thole who fell into the disused mine at Boksburg last Saturday.
The boy’s mother Nombeko Thole says she started the search when her son, who was playing the area, did not return home.
Chief Executive Officer of Mine Rescue Services Christo de Klerk says it is not possible to continue civilian rescue operations without endangering the life of personnel
Rescuers have experience rockfalls and underground earth movement.
Mayor Masina says all hope is not lost.
However the Disaster and Emergency Management services and the Mine Rescue Services have done everything they can in the rescue operations but cannot go any further.
Residents in what is known as the Jerusalem community are furious that local authorities have not sealed the disused mine.
Illegal miners, known as Zama Zamas, who operate on disused mines throughout the Witwatersrand gold fields are being blamed for opening the shaft that little Richard fell down.