Boksburg - Four illegal miners have been shot and killed during a shootout with police on an open field in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, early on Thursday morning.
Police said fifteen illegal miners, also known as zama zamas, were arrested.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said members of the SAPS and Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) were following up on information that explosives were being sold in the Boksburg area when the shootout ensued.
The explosives were allegedly used for illegal mining.
READ: Suspected illegal chrome-mining kingpins end up in dock
When police confronted the illegal miners about the claims, they opened fire at the officers, Dlamini said.
Dlamini said officers retaliated, killing four zama zamas. An EMPD officer was shot in the face and subsequently taken to hospital.
The miners have been charged with attempted murder, possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
"They are also charged with illegal immigration, because it is suspected that some of these men might be Lesotho nationals," he said.
Police recovered four firearms from the scene.
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