JOHANNESBURG – One man died and six others were wounded during a shootout between illegal miners and members of the police’s National Intervention Unit (NIU) in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, police said on Friday.
Police spokesman Vishnu Naidoo said the unit, acting on information on the possible proliferation of guns, pulled over a minibus with a group of male occupants in Benoni area in the East Rand on Thursday evening.
Naidoo said this group apparently consisted of illegal miners, also known as zama-zamas, and their so-called "protectors".
"Immediately after stopping the suspect vehicle, a shootout ensued, resulting in one NIU member being shot and wounded," Naidoo said.
"Six suspects were also shot during the shootout but one died a short while later while five of them were taken to hospital under police guard."
Naidoo said the wounded policeman was in stable condition in hospital.
He said the unit also arrested a further six suspects and recovered five handguns.
The recovered firearms would be sent for ballistic testing to establish if they were used to commit other crimes, Naidoo said.