In South Africa a months long standoff between police and illegal miners in an abandoned gold mine comes to end, with close to 80 found dead in grim recovery operation.

Hundreds of illegal miners are trapped underground and more than 100 are believed to have died in one of South Africa's deepest gold mines. Videos taken by one of the miners showed bodies wrapped in plastic and emaciated miners calling for help.

The South African government has launched a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine in the country’s North West province, where at least 109 men have died, a group representing the miners said, after local authorities cut off vital supplies in a dramatic bid to crack down on the country’s illegal mining trade.