A suspected illegal gold mining ringleader known as “Tiger” escaped from custody with help from police officers after resurfacing last week from a disused mine in South Africa where dozens of miners died and 246 were rescued,

South Africa's police have launched a manhunt for an alleged "kingpin", who is accused of controlling operations at an abandoned gold mine where 78 corpses were discovered last week. The police force said officials had helped James Neo Tshoaeli, a Lesotho national also known as Tiger, to escape after he was pulled up from the mine in Stilfontein.

The South African rand jumped on Monday as markets waited for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policy announcements for clarity on his administration's fiscal stance.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing calls to order a national inquiry into a police operation that was meant to combat illegal mining but ended up leaving 87 miners to die underground as authorities attempted to force them to surrender during a monthslong standoff.