Johannesburg, Sept. 12 (BNA) The floods caused by the collapse of a mine wall in South Africa’s Free State province swept away homes and cars on Sunday, killing one person and injuring 40 others, the provincial government said.
The disaster occurred in the diamond-mining town of Jagersfontein, forcing officials to evacuate dozens of residents to nearby farms.
One person was declared dead after his body was recovered, while 40 people, including a pregnant woman and four people with fractured limbs, were taken to hospitals for treatment, according to Reuters.
“A detailed report on the circumstances surrounding the incident will be issued when it is compiled,” the office of the Prime Minister of the Free State said.
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwedi Mantashi told reporters that nine houses were destroyed while 20 houses were completely damaged by the floods from the dam.
He pointed out that “compensation for the dead and compensation for damage to property will bear the responsibility of the company that owns the Slime Dam.”
State-owned Eskom Energy said in a separate statement that it had lost significant amounts of electricity supply in the area when the Ritkoil substation was inundated with mud and aims to restore supply to the Jagersfontein mine before the end of the day.
“It is impossible to estimate when supplies will return or to determine the extent of the damage,” Ascom said.
The floods damaged cell phone towers, injured communications, affected drinking water, and cut off some roads.
The non-governmental organization, Jeff of the Jeffers, said many of the sheep were swept away.
Mobile operator Vodacom said two of its affected base station sites are now back online after deploying generators to power them, while rival MTN said it was looking for an alternative way to access a tower it shares with others in order to restore power and services.
The Industry Authority of the Minerals Council said it has reached out to the authorities to provide any practical support and assistance the industry can provide.
De Beers said at the time of the sale of the Jagersfontein mine and tailings in 2010 to the Superkolong Consortium, which is made up of black investors, that it produced some of the world’s largest gemstones when it was in operation between 1870 and 1971.
ZHB