There are no trapped mines in South Africa’s Stilfontein mine, rescue volunteers say.

Illegal miners believed to be trapped underground at a South African gold mine are missing, volunteers working with rescue groups say.

As of Monday, at least 78 bodies and more than 200 survivors have been found at the mine, prompting the government to facilitate rescue operations, in one of the industry’s most dramatic disasters.

Police said they would check that no one was left behind on Thursday when a rescue unit descended on the mine.

The conflict began in November when the government ordered the police to arrest any miners who appeared, saying they were determined to stop illegal mining.

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During their visit on Tuesday, police and mining ministers were booed and forced out by angry crowds who blamed the government for the deaths.

Police said more than 1,500 miners had gone to the surface before rescue operations began, Reuters news agency reported.

However, others remained underground for fear of capture or being forced to stay by the gangs that controlled the mine.

A spokesman for the South African Police Service said of the volunteers’ statement that no one is yet underground: “We rely on the Mine Rescue Service to confirm this with their state-of-the-art equipment. A picture of what’s happening underground.

“The Mine Rescue Service has confirmed that they will be sending the illegal miners down to the basement in the morning to see if they have made it out with the house. At this stage we cannot say for sure that the operation has been suspended.”

Many mines in South Africa have been abandoned over the past three decades by companies that have not found them to be economically viable.

The mines have been taken over by gangs, often ex-workers, who sell minerals they get on the black market.

This includes the mine in Stilfontein, 145 km (90 miles) southwest of the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, which is the focus of the government’s efforts to crack down on the illegal industry.

A rescue tunnel has been lowered into the shaft to reach several miners believed to be at least 2km (1.2 miles) underground.

Many of the survivors had been without food and water since November, leaving them vulnerable. They are now receiving medical care.

Officials said many of the miners are undocumented immigrants from neighboring countries who face charges of illegal mining, trespassing and violating immigration laws.

“It’s a crime against the economy, it’s a targeted attack on the economy,” said Mines Minister Gedei Mantashe, defending the hard line taken against mining.

South Africa relied heavily on miners in countries such as Lesotho and Mozambique before the industry went into decline.

Unemployment in South Africa is currently over 30 percent, and many former miners say they have little alternative source of income.