Dozens rescued, bodies pulled from S. Africa mining pit

Rescuers and South African Police Service officers carry bodies during a rescue operation to retrieve illegal miners from an abandoned gold shaft in Stilfontein on January 13, 2025. [AFP]

More than two dozen illegal miners have been rescued and at least nine bodies recovered from an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, as rescue operations resumed Tuesday to reach potentially dozens more people underground.

A professional mine rescue company on Monday sent a large cage to retrieve men at the site near Stilfontein, about 140 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.