Police have called an end to a rescue operation that was launched in South Africa to rescue about 300 illegal miners known as ZamaZamas trapped more than two kilometres underground. Police launched an operation in July to smoke out the miners by blocking food and medication from entering the shaft. Authorities claimed the zamzamas were refusing to surface as they feared arrest, but six months on, reports have emerged that there was no viable exit for the miners and they were indeed trapped. The High Court ordered an immediate rescue plan and videos have emerged of dozens of dead bodies scattered among the starving miners who remain trapped. This report by Tom Canetti and Graham Walsh.
This story originally appeared on France24
South Africa mine end rescue: 78 bodies, 246 illegal miners lifted out
