South Africa police accused of 'state sponsored massacre' at mine

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00:00South African rescuers ended their attempts on Thursday to find anyone left in an illegal

00:06gold mine near the town of Stelfontaine. At least 78 people died during a police siege

00:12there. Police had encircled the mine and cut off food and water supplies since August in

00:18an effort to force the miners out so they could be arrested.

00:22The Gibrousa Labour Union called it the worst state-sponsored massacre since the end of

00:27the apartheid.

00:28A rescue operation finally began on Monday after a court order. Patrick Asaneng is the

00:34acting police commissioner for the northwest province. He said on Wednesday that 246 people

00:40have been rescued.

00:41The two volunteers have since come to the surface and they have indicated to us that

00:49they have combed the surface, the underground, and according to them, they can confirm that

00:57there are no longer corpses or bodies underground.

01:01On Thursday morning, a cylindrical metal cage with a camera inside was sent down for the

01:06last time.

01:09The survivors have been arrested and charged with illegal immigration, trespass, illegal

01:14mining and other offences. Most of them are from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.

01:21The police have said they were enforcing a government crackdown on illegal mining and

01:26that to have allowed food and water down during the siege would have meant allowing

01:30criminality to thrive.

01:32Illegal mining cost South Africa over $3 billion last year, according to the mining minister.

01:39During the siege, police removed a pulley system the miners had previously been using

01:43to get in and out. Community leaders and lawyers have alleged there was no way for them to

01:48climb out. The pulley was later restored and removed several times during months of negotiations

01:53and legal action. According to civil society advocates and community members involved in

01:59supporting the miners, the police have denied blocking the miners' exit.