Former Ekapa mine worker speaks out after mud rush tragedy – SABC News

A Former Ekapa mine worker has exclusively told SABCNews how, in the hours following a devastating mud rush that trapped five men, another one occurred while they were still trying to rescue the men.
Electrical engineer Hannes Burger, the first former worker to speak to the media, feels betrayed by Ekapa Minerals.
This, while the company announced its liquidation.
Just hours after finishing his shift at Joint Shaft, Hannes Burger was called back. He and his colleagues were frantically pumping water to get to the trapped men.
“It was bad when we were working underground, and the next mud rush came, and we had to run. It’s taking a toll on me. I don’t want to say it put fear in me, but now you have another picture of where you’re going to work, especially if you’re working underground,” says former Ekapa worker, Hannes Burger.
He says over the next few days, they will continue to assist where they can. The toll of his trapped colleagues, keeping them motivated to continue.
“It motivated us to do whatever we could to reach our colleagues, people we know personally, with the hope that we could get them out,” says Burger.
And then the shock. Just over a week after the incident, Ekapa announced it’s seeking liquidation. Leaving 1200 people, including Burger, jobless.

[WATCH] Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe visiting Ekapa Mine where five miners are still trapped after a mud rush incident. Over 1 000 miners have lost their jobs and have not been paid their February salaries.#sabcnews #UpdateAtNoon pic.twitter.com/pZMWwezKfN
— SABC News Radio (@SABCNews_Radio) February 27, 2026

“We are looking for work and sending out CVs to see if we can find other opportunities. At the moment, everything is uncertain. We don’t know what is going to happen. We are still waiting for Tuesday’s hearing, where there is apparently a court case regarding the liquidation, to find out what will happen, whether we will be paid a salary, whether it will be a full salary, we don’t know,” adds Burger.

WATCH | Efforts to reach the five men trapped at Ekapa Minerals mine in Kimberley, Northern Cape, are ongoing. Minerals Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe told reporters yesterday that all water had been removed and that those trapped would be retrieved soon. pic.twitter.com/cenWmK0eMk
— SABC News (@SABCNews) February 28, 2026

Efforts to retrieve the five men, now considered deceased, continue. Phase two,  moving boulders and mud are underway, and it’s hoped the men will be retrieved soon.

www.sabcnews.com, https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/former-ekapa-mine-worker-speaks-out-after-mud-rush-tragedy/