CAPE TOWN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Five miners trapped underground at a diamond mine in South Africa's Northern Cape Province are now presumed dead, said Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe on Friday.
The miners were trapped following a mud rush incident that occurred in the early hours of Tuesday at the Ekapa Mine in Kimberley, the provincial capital.
Mantashe, during his oversight visit to the mine, said recovery efforts are ongoing but are expected to take longer due to water and drilling challenges.
"We hope that we can find those bodies, rather than keeping a hope that they are alive," Mantashe told reporters at the site. "If you are away from the 17th (February) to today in a mud rush, as a mineworker, I can tell you that I would easily do what I call presumption of death and assume that they are dead."
The minister said authorities will engage with the affected families.
"More important today will be briefing the families in detail so that they don't hold on to false hope. They must remember that there's a disaster in the mine, it has happened," he said.
Mantashe said departmental inspectors would conduct a thorough investigation into the incident. He added that the Council for Geoscience (CGS) of South Africa would be roped in to help determine the source of the water influx linked to the mud rush.
"The CGS will be able to detect where the water comes from so that you address the problem from the origin," he said.
