Dead body seen on video in disused mine shaft

Shocking footage has emerged showing horrific conditions at an abandoned mine in South Africa where dozens of illegal miners are believed to have been living underground for months.

They have been there since a police operation targeting illegal mining across the country was launched last year.

In one of the videos, which the BBC has not independently verified, a body can be seen wrapped in a makeshift bag. The second shows the emaciated appearance of some of the miners still alive.

The long-delayed rescue operation, which a court ordered the government to expedite last week, began on Monday.

This story contains images that some people may find distressing.

Last year, authorities took tough action to cut off food and water supplies to miners, claiming they had deliberately entered the Stilfontein shaft without permission.

“We’re going to smoke them out,” one government minister said in November.

More than 100 of the illegal miners, known locally as “zama zamas”, are believed to have died underground since the crackdown began at the mine, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.

However, authorities have not confirmed these figures as they have not yet been “confirmed by official sources”, a spokesperson told the BBC.

Hundreds are believed to still be in the mine and more than 1,000 have surfaced in the past few months.

One of the videos released by the union, General Industrial Workers of South Africa (Giwusa), shows dozens of shirtless men sitting on a dirty floor. Their faces were blurred. A male voice is heard on camera saying the men are hungry and need help.

“We started showing bodies of dead people underground,” he says.

“And this is not all… Do you see how people are struggling? They need help.”

In another video, a man says, “This is hunger. People are dying because of hunger.” He put the death toll at 96 and begged for help, food and supplies.

The union said the video was filmed on Saturday.

At a briefing held near the rescue operation site on Monday, Raina’s leadership, along with community figures, said the video “painted a very dire picture” of the situation underground.

“What happened here should be called what it is: the Stilfontein massacre, because the footage shows piles of bodies of needlessly dead miners,” said Giwusa president Mametlwe Sebei.

He criticized the authorities for a “treacherous policy” that was deliberately pursued.

The Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, which is leading the rescue effort, told the BBC that Monday’s operation included lowering the cage, loading it with people and then lifting it up.

According to Giwusa, the structure is designed to accommodate six to seven people depending on their weight. It moves down the shaft at about 2km every hour. The union said that by the end of Monday, 26 miners had been rescued alive along with the bodies of nine others.

Makhosonke Buthelezi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Mineral Resources, could not confirm whether rescuing the dead or those in need of medical treatment was a priority.

The Metropolitan Police will hold a briefing with the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday to provide an update on the operation.