A suspected illegal gold mining ringleader escaped from custody with help from police officers about a week after resurfacing from a disused mine in South Africa where 246 survivors were rescued and 78 bodies were retrieved last week,

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

Rescue workers retrieved at least 78 bodies from an illegal gold mine in South Africa, where police cut off food and water supply.

Police ended a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine on Wednesday and said they believe they have brought out all the survivors and retrieved all the bodies after hundreds of miners were trapped for months in one of the country’s deepest mines while working illegally.

South African police are searching for a Lesotho gang leader, known as 'Tiger', who escaped during a police operation at an illegal gold mine. 78 bodies were found at the site. The gang is accused of hoarding food,

Arguing that the miners had entered the mine without permission, authorities reportedly cracked down by cutting off their access to food and water.

South Africa's police have launched a manhunt for an alleged "kingpin", who is accused of controlling operations at an abandoned gold mine where 78 corpses were discovered last week. The police force said officials had helped James Neo Tshoaeli,

South African police are searching for 'Tiger,' a gang leader involved in an illegal gold mine where 78 bodies were found. Surviving miners report starvation as gang leaders hoarded food. The incident has raised questions about accountability,

A suspected leader of an illegal gold mining operation in South Africa, James Neo Tshoaeli, has reportedly escaped custody with alleged assistance from police officers. Tshoaeli, who goes by the nickname "Tiger,