A months-long standoff between South African authorities and illegal miners trapped in an abandoned mine in the town of Stilfontein ended this week with at least 78 people dead – likely from starvation, human rights groups say.

South African police confirmed on Thursday that they had ended the rescue operation that began on Monday after a court order. Authorities said there were no survivors or bodies left in the deep, multi-level mine, according to cameras sent to sweep the area.

In all, 246 survivors were rescued, many of whom appeared emaciated and emaciated.

Human rights groups criticized the government for failing to prevent what they called a “massacre” after security officials cut off food and other basic supplies to miners for several weeks and postponed the rescue operation.

Here’s what to know about the months-long standoff and complex rescue operation:

What happened?

Since September, hundreds – perhaps thousands – of suspected illegal miners are believed to be in existence He fortifies himself In the vast tunnel network of the Stilfontein mine without adequate food or water, after police surrounded the mine without warning and stopped the entry of supplies.

The Stilfontein mine in the North-West Province consists of several underground shafts or shafts separated by several kilometers. Police officers closed some exits and claimed the miners could exit through others, but activists said the entrances were too far apart and the police, in effect, surrounded the men.

Although the miners’ families and community members demanded an official rescue mission, the authorities refused. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the aim was to “eliminate them”. This statement sparked criticism from human rights groups, which warned of the possibility of mass deaths as several days pass without food.

A court order in October finally forced police to allow community members to send some food down and pull some miners up the shafts using ropes. Authorities at the time estimated the number of miners at between 350 and 400 people.

Many people were rescued in sporadic and slow attempts by community members using ropes. In November, authorities said they would begin evaluating possibilities for assisted evacuation using cages after sending the body to the ropes.

Civil rights groups sued the government in January after videos emerged showing piles of bodies in the mine. In petitions filed with the court, the recently rescued miners revealed that underground conditions forced people to eat Cockroaches and human flesh And some people who tried to escape fell to death.

Last week, a judge ordered police to rescue all the miners. On Monday, a mining rescue company began dropping a small cage down the shaft. Two community members volunteered to climb down the shaft, as police officials claimed it would be unsafe.

In total, 324 people were recovered, including survivors and bodies. Some families say they are still searching for their loved ones.

Thandeka Zinzi’s brother Tom was at the mine but was not seen. “It is a very difficult moment for us,” she told Al Jazeera while trying to reach the site.

What is the problem of illegal mining in South Africa?

Informal miners, known locally as “to stay”Scammers are combing about 6,000 previously operating gold mines for gold deposits or deposits of other precious metals. Sites were officially closed or mining stopped because they were deemed unsafe or unviable. Other times, informal miners targeted working mines.

Such operations have been around for decades and cost South Africa $1 billion a year in lost revenue. It is carried out almost entirely by poor, undocumented people from neighboring countries. So far, in the Stilfontein case, officials said most were from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho, with a few from South Africa.

Zama Zama have a bad reputation in the country and are often viewed as criminals. Officials say illegal The trade is controlled by criminal gangs who fight each other in gang wars or attack the police. Often, these crime bosses also exploit miners or traffic people for forced labor in the mines.

To get some gold, miners travel thousands of kilometers to old, unstable mines and use basic materials like shovels and buckets to extract the gold ore. Often, they remain underground for months and rely on help from outside contractors who pull them with ropes for a fee and send them supplies such as food, water and cigarettes.

Why didn’t the South African government act sooner?

South African police spokeswoman Athelinde Mathi said on Wednesday that the recorded deaths were not the fault of the police.

She added: “The gang leaders behind these operations are the ones who must be held accountable.”

Officials also blamed Bavelsfontein Gold Mine (BGM), which owns the mine rights in Stilfontein, saying it should have secured the mines and ensured trespassers were removed.

In September, at the start of the operation, the authorities said they would wait until all the miners were out of the mine and then arrest them. Their campaign was part of a joint police-military operation called “Close the Pit” or “Fala Umgodi” in Zulu, which was launched in December 2023.

The process involves closing shafts or mine entrances, cutting off supplies from the outside, and forcing miners out of the ground. More than 1,000 miners emerged from mines in several cities during the operation, and explosives, firearms and more than $2 million in cash were seized, officials said.

A group of 14 miners, including a teenager, to flee From an unsealed shaft at the Stilfontein mine in November. The men said they traveled long hours to get there. One man told Al Jazeera at the time that the people he left behind were dying, and that “some are already dead.” Another added that a “boss” at the mine tried to prevent them from leaving with a gun.

However, police officials reiterated their refusal to launch a rescue operation, insisting that the escape proved that the miners were not in distress and were able to get out on their own. Activists noted that it would take some people days to reach the open shafts, and that many were already weak without food and water.

What did the rights groups say?

Human rights groups and community members condemned the government’s slow action, blaming the deaths of 78 miners on police and government ministers.

“We are not really excited,” community activist Mzokosi Jam told Al Jazeera. “They did not act willingly. Pressure was put on them.”

Miners’ rights group MACUA (Mining Affected Communities United in Action) said the crisis was a “massacre, if not genocide”, because the government’s “intent” to use starvation as a tool to coerce miners infringed on their rights. To life.

“The fact of the matter is that their calculated actions, and how they responded to the humanitarian crisis, led to mass deaths,” spokesman Magnificent Mendebele told Al Jazeera.

He added that officials did not take into account underground conditions before launching Fala Umjodi, and when the facts were presented, the police ignored the human rights implications, while state agencies used delaying tactics for two months.

The group, one of several organizations that applied to authorities several times during the months-long standoff, was instrumental in obtaining the court order that led to this week’s rescue.

In its petition to the courts, MACUA presented testimony from recently rescued miners who said that underground conditions by October were so bad that some were eating toothpaste. The men added that violent fighting broke out when the authorities allowed community members to send food, as there was not enough.

“We cannot become a society where we allow police officers to facilitate people’s death or starvation and dehydration, regardless of their underground activities,” said Jessica Lawrence, of Lawyers for Human Rights. He said Wednesday.

Separately, MACUA’s Mendebele also accused government officials of exploiting anti-immigrant sentiment already widespread in South Africa.

“Because they are illegal miners and foreigners, they do not deserve any human rights – that was the state’s approach,” he said. “To be frank, the state was xenophobic and racist.”

What’s next?

Officials said the rescued miners will receive treatment in hospitals and be put on trial.

Members of the Democratic Alliance, the country’s second-largest political party that forms part of the ruling coalition government, are calling for an investigation into the crisis. The party was the main opposition party before last year’s elections, which saw the ruling African National Congress fall in opinion polls.

The DA has sent a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa calling for a “full and transparent” investigation into the “disaster,” party spokesman James Lorimer said on Thursday. The DA also said the role of government agencies, as well as mine owners and operators, should be investigated.

“The DA urges President Ramaphosa to act quickly, while witnesses are still available, to ensure this investigation takes place. A transparent investigation will help uncover the full scope of the crisis and prevent tragedies of this kind from occurring in the future,” Lorimer added.