When Mzwandile Mkwayi was lowered into a South African mine in a red metal cage connected to a crane above ground, the first thing that struck him was the smell.

“Let me tell you something,” he told the BBC, “those bodies smell really bad”.

When he got home later that day, he told his wife that he couldn’t eat the meat she cooked.

“This is because when I talk to miners, they tell me that some of them have to eat other people inside the mine because they can’t find food. And they also eat cockroaches,” he said by phone from his Home.

Other miners rescued in December also accused miners of cannibalism to survive in statements submitted to the High Court.

Mkwayi, a former prisoner known locally as Shasha, lived in the town of Khuma, near the abandoned mines of Stilfontein. The 36-year-old, who had been jailed for seven years for robbery, volunteered to go down the mountain to help with the rescue.

“I am undergoing rehabilitation in a correctional facility and I volunteered because people in our community were looking for help for their children and brothers.

“The rescue company said they had no one willing to go down. So my friend Mandela and I agreed to volunteer so we could help our brother resurface and recover the body.”

Although he wanted to help, the 25-minute journey down the 2-kilometer (1.2-mile)-deep shaft filled him with fear.

Occasionally the crane would stop and then start, leaving him dangling in the darkness. When he entered the mine, he was shocked by what he saw.

“There were a lot of bodies, more than 70 bodies, about 200 people who were dehydrated.

“When I saw them I felt very weak and it was a painful thing. But Mandela and I decided we needed to be strong and not show them how we felt so that we could inspire them.”

This story contains a video that some people may find distressing.

They were given a heroic welcome by the miners who had been waiting for rescue for months.

“They were very, very happy,” he said.

The miners are trapped there after a nationwide police operation to halt illegal mining at abandoned mines, which have been closed as the industry – once the backbone of the country’s economy – shrinks.

It is no longer profitable for mining multinationals to operate in many places, but the promise of still finding gold has attracted many desperate people, especially undocumented immigrants.

Thousands of shafts were abandoned.

In November, police stepped up their crackdown on the Buffelsfontein mine in Stilfontein, surrounding the mine entrance and denying food and water access.

Before Monday’s rescue operation began, local communities had tried to take matters into their own hands, hanging a rope down a shaft in an attempt to free some people.

They also sent messages and told miners that help was coming.

“So when we got there, they were already waiting for the crane. Now when they see us, they see us as their president, their savior: someone who came from the outside into the hole to help them resurface. people.”

Police say illegal miners have always been able to come out on their own but refuse to do so for fear of arrest. But Mkweyi disagrees: “People don’t want to come out, that’s a lie. Those people desperately need help, they are dying.”

On Tuesday, the BBC saw dozens of people rescued at the mine.

They looked emaciated, with bones visible through their clothing. Some people can barely walk and must be helped by medical staff.

In statements submitted to the High Court, the illegal miners described in graphic detail the slow and painful deaths of their fellow workers. They said many people died of starvation.

One miner was recorded saying: “From September to October 2024, there was a complete lack of even basic food, and survival became a daily struggle against hunger.”

Mkwayi said the people he rescued were so weak that the rescue cage, which was designed to hold only seven healthy adults, could accommodate 13 of them.

“They were severely dehydrated and had lost weight, so we managed to put more stuff in the cage because they couldn’t survive another two days in the hole. If we didn’t get them out soon, they would die. “”.

Volunteers are also responsible for recovering bodies.

“The rescue service gave us bags and told us to put the bodies in the bags and put them in cages, which we did with the help of some miners.”

The rescue operation was initially expected to last at least a week, but just three days later volunteers said no one was left underground.

Authorities sent a camera down to the mine for final cleanup. They say the mine will now be permanently sealed.

But the experience deeply affected Mkwayi.

At one point during the call, he asked to repeat a question and explained that his hearing had been affected since entering the mine, presumably from stress.

But the most serious impact came from what he witnessed.

“I have to tell you, I was traumatized. I will never forget the sight of these people as long as I live.”

For activists and unions helping the community, the deaths of 87 people in the mine amounted to a “massacre” carried out by the authorities.

The use of emotional words and 34 striking miners shot dead by police in MarikanaIn 2012, it was approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Steerfontein.

But this time the trigger was not pulled. Instead, many people seemed to be starving to death.

The authorities deny they are responsible.

The government launched a crackdown on illegal mining in December 2023 through Operation “Vala Umgodi” (which means “closing the loopholes” in isiZulu).

Abandoned mines have been taken over by gangs, often led by former employees, who sell the finds on the black market.

People are forced or voluntarily involved in this illegal trade and forced to spend months digging for minerals underground. The government says illegal mining cost the South African economy $3.2bn (£2.6bn) in 2024 alone.

Entry points to multiple abandoned mines, as well as food and water supplies, have been blocked as part of a police operation to clear out illegal miners, known locally as “zama zama”.

While Vala Umgodi has had great success in other provinces, the old Buffelsfontein gold mine presented unique challenges.

Before police action, most miners could only access the ground via a makeshift pulley system operated by people on the ground.

But after a large number of safety officials arrived in August, they abandoned the top of the mine, leaving those inside stranded.

Community members then stepped in to help, pulling some people up with ropes, but it was a long and arduous process.

There were other difficult and dangerous exits, with nearly 2,000 in total reappearing – with most people arrested and still in police custody.

It’s unclear why the others didn’t come out – they may have been too weak, or threatened by gang members in the mines – but they were left in a desperate situation.

Police said Thursday that only two of the 87 people who died had been identified, explaining that the process was made more difficult by the fact that many were undocumented immigrants.

“We think the government has blood on its hands,” Magnificent Mndebele of the Mining Affected Communities United Action Group (Macua) told the BBC.

He argued that the miners received no warning of what was about to happen before the police operation began.

Over the past two months, Makua has been at the forefront of various court battles that have forced the government to first allow supplies and then carry out rescue operations.

Its accusations against the government echoed earlier statements by families who said authorities had killed their loved ones.

They have taken a tough stance since the action intensified. In November, a minister named Khumbudzo Ntshavheni made the now-infamous statement at a press conference that they would “kick them out.”

The state refused to allow food to be delivered or anyone to help retrieve the miners, only to give in after several successful court applications.

In November, a small amount of instant corn and water flowed down the mine, but in a court statement, one miner said it was not enough for the hundreds of men underground, many of whom were too weak to even chew and swallow them.

More food was delivered in December, but it was still not enough to sustain the men.

Given that the operation to recover people and bodies lasted only three days, Mr Mdbele struggled to understand why action could not have been taken earlier when there was clearly a problem.

“Frankly, we are disappointed with the government because this help has come so late.”

While the government has yet to formally respond to the allegations, police have vowed to continue a wider operation to clear the country’s abandoned mines until May this year.

Speaking to reporters in Stilfontein on Tuesday, Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe said he was not apologetic. He said the government would step up its crackdown on illegal mining, which he called a crime and “an attack on the economy.”

On Thursday, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu struck a slightly softer tone.

“I do understand and accept that this is an emotional matter. Everyone wants to pass judgment… but it will help all of us in South Africa to wait for the pathologists to do their job,” he said.

Police defended their actions, saying providing food to the miners would “encourage criminal activity”.

Illegal miners are accused of promoting crime in the communities where they operate.

Local media published numerous stories linking Zama Zama to various rapes and murders.

But for Mkweyi, who risked his life to help the miners, the people in Steelfontein were just trying to make a living.

“People used ropes to descend 2 kilometers, risking their lives to deliver food to their families.”

He said he wanted the government to issue licenses to artisanal miners who have been forced into abandoned mines due to South Africa’s high unemployment rate.

“If your children are hungry, you don’t hesitate to go there because you have to feed them. You risk your life to put food on the table.”