South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing calls to order a national inquiry into a police operation that was meant to combat illegal mining but ended up leaving 87 miners to die underground as authorities attempted to force them to surrender during a monthslong standoff.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, acting North West police commissioner Patrick Asaneng confirmed there were no illegal miners remaining at the site. The MRS is expected to provide a detailed report to law enforcement and the Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources.

South African police lowered a camera down more than a mile (1.5 km) underground into an illegal gold mine on Thursday to ascertain if any survivors or corpses were still there after a months-long siege by authorities in which at least 78 miners died.

By Siyabonga Sishi and Nellie Peyton STILFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) - South African rescuers were making final efforts on Thursday to ascertain whether anyone was left in an illegal gold mine deep underground where at least 78 people died during a police siege,

South African police have ended a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine where hundreds of illegal miners were trapped for months and say they believe they have rescued all the survivors and retri

No more illegal miners are believed to be trapped underground at a gold mine in South Africa, volunteers working with rescue teams have said. At least 78 bodies and more than 200 survivors have been pulled out since Monday after a court ordered the government to facilitate rescue operations at the mine,

Authorities face possible investigation into their initial refusal to help miners and instead 'smoke them out' by cutting off food supplies

Police say the death toll in a monthslong standoff between authorities and miners trapped while working illegally underground at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa has risen to at least 87