The bringing to the surface of illegal miners in the South Sabie mine shaft in Mpumalanga is progressing much faster compared to the previous two days.

The rescue teams are today using a bakkie to pull out the illegal miners from underground.

Close to 60 illegal miners have been brought to the surface since this morning.

Three bodies have been retrieved from the shaft since the start of the rescue operation.

“Just from today, which started from 06:30 more than 40, close to 50 have already been brought to surface. We also have stakeholders from the mine that are assisting us, they are using a bakkie instead of the members that were pulling with their hands for the past two days. So, today is much faster, so we are hopeful that within a short space of time we will able to bring everyone underground to the surface,” says police spokesperson, Donald Mdluli.

VIDEO| Police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdluli indicated earlier that some of the miners claimed that they were held against their will. 

VIDEO| Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola visited the area this week.