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South African police lower cage into mine to examine if anyone left after 78 passed away

South African police lowered a cam down more than a mile (1.5 km). underground into an unlawful gold mine on Thursday to ascertain. if any survivors or remains were still there after a monthslong. siege by authorities in which at least 78 miners died.

The remains and 246 survivors, a few of them emaciated and. disorientated, have actually been brought to the surface area over three days. of a court-ordered rescue operation.

Authorities had actually cut off food and water products since August in. what they said was a necessary crackdown on unlawful mining.

The siege of the mine near Stilfontein, southwest of. Johannesburg, is one of the most dangerous on illegal miners in. current South African history.

Trade unions have actually called the tactics the federal government has actually used. horrific and implicated it of permitting cops to starve to death. desperate people attempting to eke out a living.

Only two of the 78 retrieved bodies have been identified so. far due to the fact that many of the prohibited miners were undocumented and. a few of the bodies had actually decomposed, cops spokesperson Athlenda. Mathe said.

Volunteers who had decreased to the mine informed cops on. Wednesday that they might not see anyone dead or alive left in. the tunnels after they inspected the entire shaft.

Police said they were seeking to confirm that on Thursday. using the round metal cage they have been using to. recover miners and corpses.

We took the decision for the cage to go down today. again to look at whether what they (the volunteers) are informing. us is certainly true, Mathe informed reporters at the mine.

As the death toll has installed, so has criticism of the. authorities, though the government has protected its actions as. necessary to safeguard the economy and fight criminal offense. The mines. minister has said the illegal rare-earth elements trade cost South. Africa more than $3 billion in 2015.

Mathe said police were trying to identify the kingpins. behind the unlawful mining at Stilfontein and hoped there would. be arrests soon.

' CLOSE THE HOLE'

Unlawful mining prevails in parts of gold-rich South Africa. Typically, undocumented miners referred to as zama zamas - from an. isiZulu expression for taking a chance - move into mines. deserted by business miners and look for to draw out whatever is. left. Some are under the control of violent criminal gangs.

Mathe stated there would be no let-up in the federal government's. crackdown on illegal mining, an operation called Close the. Hole.

Of the 246 survivors gave the surface from Monday to. Wednesday, 9 had actually been hospitalised for medical treatment and. were under authorities guard, Mathe stated.

Police began besieging the Stilfontein mine in August,. when they removed a pulley system that was being utilized to bring. supplies of food and water up and down, in an effort to force. the miners to the surface.

Cops say they never stopped anybody from coming out or. blocked any mine shafts but that providing products to unlawful. miners would be allowing criminality to flourish.

(source: Reuters)