Illegal miners go underground and stay there for months under extremely dangerous circumstances. Two weeks before the accident at Eland Shaft, five bodies believed to be those of illegal miners were recovered. In 2007 twenty five (25) illegal miners died in an underground fire. The common cause of accidents in illegal mining is fire and rock falls. This is because the mines are unsafe and the miners use wood to support the rocks and prevent them from falling. They use blasting methods to extract gold from the rocks. These elements combined predispose the illegal miners to death from burns, crash injuries and suffocation from smoke inhalation or loss of oxygen. There is an indirect cost to the State and an increase in social grants to support the remaining family members who lose bread- winners in mining accidents.