The South African government has launched a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine in the country’s North West province, where at least 109 men have died, a group representing the miners said, after local authorities cut off vital supplies in a dramatic bid to crack down on the country’s illegal mining trade.

Rescuers retrieving illegal miners from a disused South African gold shaft said on Thursday a final sweep appeared to show nobody was left underground, after 78 bodies and more than 200 miners were lifted out this week.