South African police ordered enough mortuary vans to carry 32 bodies hours before shooting dead 34 striking miners, inquiry hears

Police chief said he was going to 'close down the miners', commission told

'He asked the health department for four mortuary vans to be sent to scene'

'Separate order also made for 4,000 rounds of ammunition for assault rifles'

Police claim self-defence over the shootings at the Marikana platinum mine



South African police who gunned down 34 striking miners in the tragedy dubbed the Marikana Massacre had put in an advanced order for enough mortuary vans to carry 32 bodies, an inquiry heard.

The revelation adds weight to suggestions that officers were preparing for the worst when they confronted up to 3,000 workers near the Marikana mine in August last year.

The Marikana Commission of Inquiry, which was set up to investigate the tragedy, has heard how police had asked the health department for four mortuary vans, which were each able to carry eight bodies, to be sent to the site hours before the clashes.

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Aftermath: Police check bodies of South African miners at the Lonmin Platinum Mine near Rustenburg, where 34 workers were killed during a violent protest in August last year

Footage shot at the scene clearly shows officers firing live ammunition from automatic weapons and handguns WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT



A Colonel Classen, from the South African Police Service, allegedly said he was going to 'close down the miners' when he put in the order.



A separate request for 4,000 rounds of ammunition for R5 assault rifles had also been made, it was reported by The Financial Times.

That afternoon, police opened fire on the miners, killing 34 and injuring more than 70 in one of the most shocking incidents since the end of white rule in 1994.

The killings, caught on camera, shocked the world and reminded many in South Africa of apartheid-era police brutality.

Taking cover: Protesting miners can be seen cowering within the gun sights of an police officer

Surrounded: Police form an armed cordon around strikers. It is unclear whether these miners are injured or lying down for officers to conduct searches

At the centre of violence: The Lonmin PLC mine, near Rustenburg, 100km north-west of Johannesburg, where around 3,000 miners walked out on August 10 over wages. Since then there have been several fatal incidents

Under pressure: President Jacob Zuma

In the days after the killings, South African prosecutors then sparked outrage when they charged 270 miners with the murders of their striking colleagues at the Lonmin Platinum Mine near Rustenburg.



The men were charged under a law dating from the apartheid era that alleges they had a 'common purpose' in the murder of their co-workers.

The African National Congress, whose members used to be gunned down by apartheid police at protest rallies and targeted with draconian laws, was severely criticised for using similar tactics now that it is in power.

Earlier this month, South African President Jacob Zuma, who set up the inquiry, gave the commission an extra six months to finalise its probe into the events that led to the massacre on August 16, 2012, including the conduct of police.

The investigating commission - led by appeals court judge Ian Farlam - began deliberations on October 1, and the inquiry was originally scheduled to finish within four months.

However, the process has been marred by accusations of police lying about events, violence against witnesses and stoppages caused by a shortage of legal fees for the miners.

Violence: A mine worker is pictured licking his spear at Lonmins Marikana platinum mine in South Africa, where police opened fire on striking miners armed with machetes and sticks

Bloody scenes: The shooting was one of the worst in South Africa since the end of the apartheid era

Sticks and stones versus bullets: Miners can be seen between police vehicles throwing rocks at officers. Victims on both sides have been killed in recent days