1 Miner Killed, 20 Injured in S. Africa Strike Violence

One black miner died and 20 others were seriously hurt as armed security officers quelled strike-related violence apparently incited by a witch doctor, a mining company spokesman said today.

And in a strike-related incident, at least 20 black miners died and 47 were injured today when their bus crashed into a cliff and overturned on a mountain pass about 450 miles south of Johannesburg, police said.

Spokesman Michael de Kock, of the Gold Fields mine company, said today that about 250 heavily armed miners attacked company guards and non-striking miners at the Libanon gold mine west of Johannesburg about 7:20 p.m. Thursday.

De Kock said the attacking miners carried sharpened sticks and metal bars studded with nuts and bolts.

“The employees involved in the attack were under the influence of narcotics and had been incited by a witch doctor, who scarred them by making incisions on their chests and foreheads,” he said.

Witch Doctor’s Treatment

Two policemen died last year in an attack by miners who thought they had been made invincible by a witch doctor’s treatment.

De Kock said it is not clear whether the miner who died and those injured were victims of the attack or of mine security officials.

The National Union of Mineworkers said security officers fired lethal ammunition and rubber bullets at the strikers.

The union said more than 320 miners have been injured and about 300 arrested during the strike against major gold and coal mines.

The South African Press Assn. reported two accounts of the bus accident that occurred today between the towns of Queenstown and Fort Beaufort about 400 miles south of Johannesburg.

2 Versions of Accident

It quoted an ambulance attendant as saying a survivor told her the bus, carrying about 100 people, had been speeding down the pass when the driver lost control and the heavily loaded vehicle crashed and overturned. It also quoted another rescue worker as saying the crash occurred when the driver swerved to avoid a boulder in the road.

She said survivors told her that they were striking miners heading home.

In its first report, the South African Broadcasting Corp. said 60 people had been killed. It later revised the toll downward twice, citing early confusion in the rescue operation that involved at least 24 ambulances.

The press association reported at least 10 injured were in critical condition with severe head, back and facial injuries. Authorities said most of the dead were crushed by boulders dislodged when the bus hit the cliff.

In another development, at least 2,000 striking black miners were fired today for defying a back-to-work ultimatum and thousands more faced similar deadlines later today and Monday, officials said.