Pretoria - The death toll at the Harmony Gold mine in the Free State has risen to 82, following the discovery of another body on Monday.
On 31 May, illegal miners were killed in a fire that broke out in one of the mine's disused shafts where they were illegally digging for gold. It is suspected that some died as result of smoke inhalation.
Since last week, more bodies have been recovered at the mine, making the accident the worst-ever reported among illegal miners.
Most of the deceased are allegedly foreigners who are in the country illegally.
According to Tom Smith, Chief Operating Officer at the mine, it is not known as to how many people were involved in the illegal mining of the gold.
"We do not know as to how they got inside the shaft and how long they have been there. We do not know if there are more bodies still trapped," Mr Smith told BuaNews on Monday.
The mine has since beefed-up security and strict measures had been put in place to prevent illegal activities from taking place.
So far, 299 people have been arrested and according to Mr Smith, the number could rise since police investigations are continuing.
The bodies of the deceased are being retrieved by fellow illegal miners about 1.4 km deep.
Mr Smith said they could not deploy their staff as the situation is extremely dangerous.
Relatives of the deceased are still flocking at the mine to identify the bodies, however, some of the bodies are difficult to identify.
However, Mr Smith said mining operations had not been affected and it has been business as usual at the mine.
