The clampdown on illegal mining cut off food and water to hundreds of miners underground. At least 78 bodies were pulled from a mining shaft this week, and more are believed to remain underground.

Rescue teams in South Africa have stepped up efforts to pull out survivors and the corpses of illegal miners trapped underground for about two months, following one of the most extraordinary tragedies to hit the industry.

A miner who spent six months in a disused mine in South Africa has spoken of the horror he experienced after a police operation cut off food and basic supplies to thousands who were illegally digging