South Africa launches rescue mission for trapped illegal miners

The South African government has launched a mission to rescue potentially hundreds of miners trapped in an illegal mine, where their access to food, water, and medicine was blocked last year in an effort to force them out.

The operation began on Friday, after the sister of one of the miners underground filed a court case. This came in response to letters from miners who were brought to the surface on Thursday.

One of the letters claims that at least 109 people have already died at the Buffelsfontein gold mine, located near Stilfontein, about 100 miles southwest of Johannesburg.

Illegal mining has been on the rise in South Africa in recent years, as many industrial mines have been depleted. Analysts estimate that around 30,000 "zama zama" miners are working in abandoned mines, producing up to 10% of the country’s gold output.