Every year the South African mining industry experiences a number of suicides. The following will provide some guidance regarding evidence that must be gathered to enable the CloM to make a ruling in respect of whether the particular incident is a mine accident or not.
One must not lose sight of the fact that a suicidal person usually sends out signals of distress and whenever possible these need to be followed up to obtain a better picture of the situation.
| 13.1 | Main reasons for committing suicide. These include but are not limited to the following: |
| – | Debts (financial problems) |
| – | Health problems including mental problems (medical records) |
| 13.2 | Some main methods adopted to commit suicide: These include but are not limited to the following: |
| – | Jumping from heights, into excavations |
| 13.3 | Some evidence which can be followed up: |
| – | Suicide notes or personal letters (may not always be present). |
| – | Statements from colleagues, friends or relatives regarding the personal problems faced by the person or admissions made. |
| – | Evidence of financial difficulties and a plea for urgent assistance to colleagues, friends, relatives or employer. |
| – | Clothing neatly stacked with cap lamp and hard-hat removed. |
| – | A number of reported deaths have occurred shortly before the termination of work contracts or before onset of leave. |
When recommending that a death be classified as a suicide, the Investigating Officer must bear in mind that an error in classificat ion can have severe social, legal and financial ramifications . With that in mind, the Investigating Officer must endeavour to completely understand the suicide by familiarising him/herself with the risk factors, the methods and the entire scenario , as well as the presence of myths and falsehoods.
| 13.4 | Suspected substance abuse (alcohol and drugs) |
As a matter of cause, blood samples should be taken for alcohol and substance tests .
NOTE:
In all cases the completed inquiry, together with the recommendations of the IoM, must be forwarded to the CloM to make the final ruling.
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