STILFONTEIN, South Africa, (Reuters) – At least 78 dead bodies have been pulled from an illegal gold mine in South Africa where police cut off food and water supplies for months, in what trade unions called a “horrific” crackdown on desperate people trying to eke out a living.
A total of 246 survivors, some of them emaciated and disorientated, have been brought to the surface and immediately arrested for illegal mining and immigration since a court-ordered rescue operation began on Monday.
Volunteers who went down to the mine, located 2 km (1.5 miles) underground near Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg, told police late on Wednesday they could not see anyone left in the tunnels, a police spokesperson told reportersat the site.
Rescuers would keep working on Thursday to make sure all bodies and survivors had been recovered, the spokesperson said. Earlier, there were fears dozens or even hundreds more men could still be trapped.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions accused the state on Tuesday of allowing miners “to starve to death in the depths of the earth”.
A total of 246 survivors, some of them emaciated and disorientated, have been brought to the surface and immediately arrested for illegal mining and immigration since a court-ordered rescue operation began on Monday.
Volunteers who went down to the mine, located 2 km (1.5 miles) underground near Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg, told police late on Wednesday they could not see anyone left in the tunnels, a police spokesperson told reportersat the site.
Rescuers would keep working on Thursday to make sure all bodies and survivors had been recovered, the spokesperson said. Earlier, there were fears dozens or even hundreds more men could still be trapped.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions accused the state on Tuesday of allowing miners “to starve to death in the depths of the earth”.
