Six mine victims still unidentified: official

Six of the 34 people shot dead by South African police in an illegal miners strike have not yet been identified, four days after the deadliest crackdown since apartheid, the government said Monday.

A ministerial team working in Marikana to help arrange burials and aid the families of victims said that all but six men had been identified from the fatal protest at the Lonmin platinum mine.

Some of the dead are foreigners, most likely migrant workers who came from neighbouring countries in search of work, the government said in a statement.

Authorities were working to issue the documents needed for families to transport the bodies back home, it added.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi was at the Phokeng government mortuary helping families identify the bodies, North-West provincial spokesman Lesiba Moses Kgwele said in a statement on Facebook.

“Bereaved families request government to request Lonmin not to put pressure on them to return to work while they are mourning and arranging burials,” he said.

Lonmin has given workers until 7:00 am (0500 GMT) Tuesday to return to the job or face dismissal. About 27 percent of the company’s 28,000 workers took up their tools on Monday, Lonmin said.