On Thursday, police continued to enforce a wide cordon around the closed mine as they hunted down miners as they emerged.

National police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said: “We have a decomposed body brought in this afternoon. The circumstances surrounding how this illegal miner died are being investigated.”

He said the body was the first to be recovered from the mine.

The government took a harsh stance against the miners, known locally as Zama Zamas, which roughly translates to those who take chances or try their luck.

Immigrants, many of whom come from neighboring countries and do not have the opportunity to find legal employment, enter disused mines and try to extract the remaining minerals.

The gold they find is smuggled out of the country, a practice that is said to result in huge revenue losses for the government and the mining industry.

Their camps are often accused of local crimes such as murder, robbery and rape.

Turf wars have also occurred between rival groups, often backed by powerful organized crime networks.

Ms. Mathe said authorities wanted the miners to leave and would not enter the shaft because of dangerous gases and information that the miners were carrying weapons.

‘No one fell into the trap’

“Intelligence told us they refused to reemerge. No one was trapped.” “It’s unclear how long the miners have been underground,” he said.

Promises to fight Zama Zamas have become a mainstay of the campaigns of anti-immigration politicians in South Africa.