At least 100 illegal miners have died trapped in South African mine, group says

Police and private security personnel at the opening of a reformed gold mineshaft where illegal miners are trapped in Stilfontein (Denis Farrell/AP)

At least 100 people who were mining illegally in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa have died after being trapped deep underground for months while police tried to get them out, a group representing the miners has said.

Sabelo Mnguni, a spokesman for the Mining Affected Communities United in Action Group, told The Associated Press that a phone sent to the surface with some rescued miners on Friday had two videos on it showing dozens of bodies underground wrapped in plastic.