Dead bodies from a used shaft have been shown in videos.

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A provided screengrab shows a defunct illegal miner with his shirt off in a hidden tunnel. The long-haired young man was trapped in a dimly lit corridor along with his fellow diggers. presented

The videos recorded underground show dead bodies and emaciated figures

Heartbreaking videos have emerged showing the dire conditions at a gold mining site in South Africa, where dozens of illegal miners are said to have been living underground for months.

They have been there since last year, when a police operation targeting illegal mining began across the country.

In the video, which the BBC has not independently verified, bodies can be seen wrapped in artificial body bags. A second shows the figures of some of the miners alive.

The long-delayed rescue operation, which a court ordered the government to facilitate last week, began on Monday.

Last year, when it was argued that miners had deliberately entered the Stilfontein shaft without permission, the authorities cracked down, cutting off food and water supplies.

“We’re going to smoke them out,” a government minister said in November.

More than 100 illegal miners, known locally as “Zama Zamas”, have reportedly died underground since the attack on the mine, 145 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg, began.

However, officials have not yet confirmed this figure “as it cannot be confirmed by an official source,” a spokesman told the BBC.

Hundreds are thought to still be in the mine, while more than 1,000 have surfaced in the past few months.

In a video released by a trade union, the General Industries Workers of South Africa (GEWSA), dozens of shirtless men can be seen sitting on a dirty floor. Their faces are pale. A man’s voice is heard off-camera saying that the men are hungry and need help.

“We’re going to start showing you the bodies of people who died underground,” he says.

“And that’s not all… you see how people are struggling? We need help, please.”

In another video, a man said, “This is hunger. People are dying of hunger,” he said. Then he reaches the death toll of 96 and begs for help, food and supplies.

The union said the film was shot on Saturday.

Giwusa A man in a white boiler was standing next to a crane that was about to lower a cabin into a mining pit.Throw it away

Mining is being carried down from the top of the disused shaft to bring it back to the surface.

In a statement Monday near the rescue site, Giussa’s leadership, along with the community, said the videos “paint a very grim picture” of the situation underground.

Mamtelwe Sebey, president of Giwusa, said: “It must be said what happened here; this is the Stilfontein massacre. Because this footage shows the human body, the miners who died needlessly.”

They blamed the authorities saying it was a malicious policy that was carried out deliberately.

The Department of Mineral Resources, which is leading the rescue operation, told the BBC that Monday’s operation involved lowering the shaft, which was lifted up once it was loaded by people.

According to Giussa, this structure was designed to hold six or seven people. It was going down about 2 kilometers every hour – it was going down to the shaft. By late Monday, the union said 26 miners had been found alive, along with nine bodies.

A spokesman for the Department of Mineral Resources, Makhosonke Buthelezi, could not confirm whether the priority was the recovery of those who died or needed medical attention.

A briefing will be held on Tuesday by the department together with the Ministry of Police to provide updates on the operation.

Getty Images/BBC A woman looks at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News AfricaGetty Images/BBC