At least 100 people who were trapped in a South African mine have died, a group representing them has said.
They were illegally mining in an abandoned gold mine and have been engaged in a lengthy standoff with authorities who had cut off their food, water and supplies in an attempt to “smoke them out”.
Sabelo Mnguni, a spokesman for the Mining Affected Communities United in Action Group (MACUA), said a mobile phone sent to the surface with some of the rescued miners on Friday had videos showing dozens of bodies underground wrapped in plastic.
Mr Mnguni said “a minimum” of 100 men had died in the mine in the northwest town of Stilfontein, suspected to have died of starvation or dehydration.
Since Friday, 18 bodies have been brought out but hundreds of people remain underground.
Police spokesman Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said they were still verifying information on how many bodies had been recovered and how many survivors have been brought out after starting a new rescue operation on Monday.
The two videos are reported to show dozens of dead bodies, many wrapped in plastic, while emaciated, shirtless miners pleaded for help.
Standoff with police for months
The mine has been the scene of a standoff between police and miners since authorities first attempted to force the miners out and seal the mine in November.
Police said the miners were refusing to come out for fear of arrest, but Mr Mnguni said they had been left trapped underground after police removed the ropes they used to climb out of the mine.
Police also cut off the miners’ food supplies in an attempt to force them out for illegally entering the abandoned mine in search of gold.
Their efforts were part of a crackdown on illegal mining that has plagued the country for decades. The miners are often from neighbouring countries, and police have said the illegal operations involve larger syndicates that employ them.
Previously, cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said: “We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out.
“They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped; criminals are to be prosecuted. We didn’t send them there.”
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MACUA spokesperson Magnificent Mndebele said more than 400 miners were still waiting to be rescued two months after the standoff with South African police.
Mr Mndebele said that a pulley system, used for lowering supplies to the miners and enabling them to get out, was destroyed before MACUA restored it on 9 January.
“The shaft is 2km deep. It’s impossible for people to climb up,” he said.
The authorities were previously said to be at the mine preparing for a planned rescue this week and MACUA posted images on social media saying the rescue operation had begun on Monday.
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Both the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) and the country’s Department for Mineral Resources and Energy have been approached for comment.
