The South African government has launched a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine in the country’s North West province, where at least 109 men have died, a group representing the miners said, after local authorities cut off vital supplies in a dramatic bid to crack down on the country’s illegal mining trade.

At least 400 illegal miners remained trapped underground in South Africa two months after a police raid, a group working on behalf of the miners said on Monday, which provided footage of dozens of dead bodies and emaciated men in the mine.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At least 100 men who were mining illegally in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa have died of suspected starvation and dehydration after being trapped deep underground for months while police tried to force them out, a group representing the miners said Monday.

One hundred and eighteen illegal miners have been extracted from the Stilfontein mine in South Africa on Monday and Tuesday as part of a rescue operation, of which 36 were certified as dead, police said in a statement on Tuesday.

Dem don comot more bodies from South African mine as efforts continue for second day to help scores of illegal miners wey still dey at least 2km (1.2 miles) underground, one national umbrella body for NGOs,

Rescuers have sent a cage-like structure into one of South Africa’s deepest gold mines to bring out survivors among hundreds of miners working illegally in an abandoned shaft who have been trapped for