AT LEAST 100 illegal miners have died after becoming trapped in a South African gold mine for months on end.
They had been in a long standoff with cops who cut off their water, food and supplies in a bid to “smoke them out”.
According to Sabelo Mnguni, a spokesman for the Mining Affected Communities United in Action Group (MACUA), the miners are believed to have perished due to lack of water and food.
Some 18 bodies have been brought out of the abandoned mine in northwestern town of Stilfontein since Friday.
But some 500 more are still trapped inside after being stuck underground for nine months.
Mnguni also mentioned that footage captured on a mobile phone and sent up to the surface with some of the rescued miners depicted numerous bodies wrapped in plastic.
The initial video unveiled stacks of miners’ remains enveloped in sacks and plastic, alongside surviving miners trapped below appealing for assistance.
A second video showed shirtless miners looking emaciated, with their ribs protruding.
Police said they blocked miners’ supplies of food and water to force them out and arrest them for illegally entering the abandoned mine in search of leftover gold – part of a crackdown on illegal mining that has plagued South Africa for decades.
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