Rescuers attempt to bring out survivors among hundreds trapped in a South African mine Rescuers were sending a cage-like structure into one of South Africa’s deepest mines on Tuesday in an attempt to bring out survivors among hundreds of illegal miners trapped underground for months in an abandoned shaft.
Authorities say the miners are able to come out and are refusing, but that has been disputed by rights groups and activists, who have fiercely criticized police tactics in cutting off the miners' food and water supplies from the surface in an attempt to force them out.
The mine near the town of Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg, has been the scene of a tense standoff between police, miners and members of the local community since November, when authorities first launched an operation to try and force the miners out.
A group representing the miners said that at least 18 bodies and 26 survivors have been brought out of the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine since Friday, but more than 500 miners are still believed to be underground.
The rights groups say many of the miners are effectively dying of starvation and unable to climb out because the shaft is too steep and the ropes and pulley system they used to enter have been removed.
