KwaZulu-Natal police have warned the public not to play or work in abandoned mines and quarries.
|||KwaZulu-Natal police warned the public on Friday not to play or work in abandoned mines and quarries after a girl died when a quarry wall caved in on her in Elandslaagte.
“The 13-year-old was collecting coal dust, which is compacted into coal bricks and then used as a fuel source at home,” Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Mdunge said.
The wall collapsed around 1pm on Saturday and the girl, Zanele Mchunu, suffered fatal injuries. Mdunge warned people these areas could be very dangerous.
“Remember you do not possess the specialised training of a miner and therefore you do not know whether the items you are removing will destabilise the area and cause a collapse of walls or a rockfall.
“These areas could also sometimes produce dangerous gases which could be hazardous to your health or could be highly flammable,” warned Mdunge. – Sapa