JAGERSFONTEIN - The Jagersfontein disaster could've been avoided if mining company, Jagersfontein Development, followed orders from authorities according to human rights lawyer, Richard Spoor.
He says there was an order from the Water Affairs Department back in 2020 ordering the company to stop dumping in the dam.
The dam wall burst on Sunday leaving scores of houses destroyed and many displaced.
Spoor said, "well the damages and the harm people have suffered is catastrophic also the possibility of heavy rains the summer season is coming...measures need to be put in place to ensure that the contaminated tailings aren't released into water system...so there's a risk of the disaster, there's a risk of much more significant pollution and contamination of water resources...so it's gonna take a really big effort on the part of govt and the mine to limit damage to what we've seen to date."