Rescuers Bring Out Survivors and Dead From South African Mine as Hundreds Remain Deep Underground

Rescuers Bring Out Survivors and Dead From South African Mine as Hundreds Remain Deep Underground
Rescuer workers assist an illegal miner who has been trapped deep in an abandoned gold mine for months, in Stilfontein, South Africa, on Jan. 14, 2025. Themba Hadebe/AP Photo
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STILFONTEIN, South Africa—Rescuers sent a cage-like structure down into one of South Africa’s deepest gold mines on Tuesday to bring out survivors among hundreds of miners who were working illegally in an abandoned shaft and have been trapped for months. More than 100 are believed to have died of starvation or dehydration.

Police said that at least 24 bodies and 37 survivors have been brought out of the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine since Friday, but civic organizations and groups representing the miners say more than 500 are still believed to be underground, many of them ill and starving.