South African police launch manhunt for gang leader of illegal mine

FILE - Rescuers cross the caution tape near a Metalliferous Mobile Rescue Winder during a rescue operation to retrieve illegal miners from an abandoned gold shaft in Stilfontein on Jan. 13, 2025.

South African police have launched a manhunt for a Lesotho gang member believed to have controlled operations at an illegal gold mine where 78 bodies were recovered last week during a police siege, from which he escaped.