Why did 87 people die in South Africa? - The tragedy at the abandoned gold mine near Stilfontein began to unfold in August

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

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

First responders pulled dozens of bodies and hundreds of emaciated survivors from an abandoned gold mine this week, bringing a grisly end to a months-long standoff with illegal miners and their families.

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

Police say the death toll in a standoff with miners trapped while working illegally at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa has risen to at least 87.

The miners are suspected to have died of starvation and dehydration, although no causes of death have been released.