STILFONTEIN, South Africa —They look like the walking dead. Dusty men, skin and hair caked in dirt, skeletal. Some struggle to walk and collapse. They blink like moles in the harsh South African ...

The siege, which began in August at the mine in the town of Stilfontein, about 150km from Johannesburg, cut off food and water supplies for months in an attempt to force the miners to the surface ...

The Stilfontein Crisis Committee says even though all surviving illegal miners have seemingly been rescued from the disused mine shaft, and bodies of 78 deceased miners were brought to the surface ...

Rescuers use a Metalliferous Mobile Rescue Winder during a rescue operation to retrieve illegal miners from an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein on 14 January 2025. Picture: Christian Velcich/AFP ...

Continued efforts to clear illegal miners from the abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein, North West, led to 60 bodies and 106 survivors being brought to the surface after two days of intensive ...