Bodies are seen in videos from the disused shaft

Disturbing videos have emerged showing the dire situation in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa where it is reported that a number of illegal miners have been living underground for months.

They have been there since a police operation focused on illegal mining began last year across the country.

In one of the videos, which the BBC has not independently verified, bodies can be seen wrapped in makeshift bags. The second shows the slim figures of some of the miners who are still alive.

The long-delayed rescue operation, which a court last week ordered the government to ease, began on Monday.

This story contains imagery that some people may find sad.

Last year, arguing that the miners entered the pit in Stilfontein deliberately without permission, the authorities took a hard line, withholding food and water.

In November, one government minister said: “We will smoke them.”

More than 100 illegal miners, locally known as “zama zamas”, are reported to have died underground since the mining operation began about 145km (90 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.

The authorities have not yet confirmed this figure as it is yet to be confirmed by an official source, said a BBC spokesperson.

Hundreds are thought to still be in the mine and more than 1,000 have been seen in the past few months.

In one of the videos released by the General Industries Workers of South Africa (Giwusa), a number of naked men can be seen sitting on a dirty floor. Their faces are pale. A man’s voice is heard off camera saying that these men are hungry and need help.

“We are starting to show you the bodies of those who died underground,” he said.

“And not all of them… Do you see that people are struggling? Please, we need help.”

In another video, a man says: “This is famine; people are dying of hunger.” He then put the death toll at 96 and asked for help, food and supplies.

The union says the video was recorded on Saturday.

In a press conference held on Monday near where the rescue operation began, the leadership of Giwusa, along with public figures, said that the videos presented a “very bad picture” about the private situation.

“What happened here must be called for what it is; this Stilfontein massacre. Because what this video does is show a lot of human bodies, of miners who died needlessly,” said Giwusa president Mametlwe Sebei.

He accused the authorities of what he described as a “strategy of deception” that was deliberately pursued.

The Ministry of Mines, which is leading the rescue operation, told the BBC that Monday’s operation included the lowering of a cage which was then raised when loaded with people.

This building is designed to accommodate six or seven people, depending on their weight, according to Giwusa. It has been going down the shaft – about 2km down – every hour. The union said that at the end of Monday, 26 miners had been brought up alive, along with nine bodies.

The spokesperson of the Department of Mining, Makhosonke Buthelezi, could not confirm that the priority is to take the dead or those who need medical assistance.

A departmental briefing will be held on Tuesday, in collaboration with the police department, to provide an update on the project.