South African rescuers ended their attempts on Thursday to find anyone left in an illegal gold mine where at least 78 people died during a police siege. - REUTERS
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00:00South African rescuers ended their attempts on Thursday to find anyone left in an illegal
00:06gold mine near the town of Stelfontaine. At least 78 people died during a police siege
00:12there. Police had encircled the mine and cut off food and water supplies since August in
00:18an effort to force the miners out so they could be arrested.
00:22The Gibrousa Labour Union called it the worst state-sponsored massacre since the end of
00:27the apartheid.
00:28A rescue operation finally began on Monday after a court order. Patrick Asaneng is the
00:34acting police commissioner for the northwest province. He said on Wednesday that 246 people
00:40have been rescued.
00:41The two volunteers have since come to the surface and they have indicated to us that
00:49they have combed the surface, the underground, and according to them, they can confirm that
00:57there are no longer corpses or bodies underground.
01:01On Thursday morning, a cylindrical metal cage with a camera inside was sent down for the
01:06last time.
01:09The survivors have been arrested and charged with illegal immigration, trespass, illegal
01:14mining and other offences. Most of them are from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
01:21The police have said they were enforcing a government crackdown on illegal mining and
01:26that to have allowed food and water down during the siege would have meant allowing
01:30criminality to thrive.
01:32Illegal mining cost South Africa over $3 billion last year, according to the mining minister.
01:39During the siege, police removed a pulley system the miners had previously been using
01:43to get in and out. Community leaders and lawyers have alleged there was no way for them to
01:48climb out. The pulley was later restored and removed several times during months of negotiations
01:53and legal action. According to civil society advocates and community members involved in
01:59supporting the miners, the police have denied blocking the miners' exit.