The closed Buffelsfontein Gold Mine was the scene of a standoff in November when police tried to force the miners out by cutting off their supplies.

The prospectors were trapped underground for months as police, on orders from South Africa’s government, attempted to starve them out.

Rescue teams in South Africa have stepped up efforts to pull out survivors and the corpses of illegal miners trapped underground for about two months, following one of the most extraordinary tragedies to hit the industry.