Dreams of striking it rich by scouring dangerous disused gold shafts with rudimentary tools may have cost the lives of 20 men in Orkney.
The bodies were burnt and wrapped in plastic bags.
Police in the North West said five decomposed bodies were found on Tuesday evening outside an unused mine shaft in Lawrence Park.
Sabata Mokgwabone, spokesperson for the police said other bodies were discovered the next day along Ariston Road, near the railway line in Orkney bringing the total number to 20.
The dead men were thought to have been mining unlawfully when they met their demise.
“All the deceased are suspected to be illegal miners,” said Mokgwabone.
Before the bodies were found a video had been doing the rounds on social media of a man pleading for assistance following what he said was a smoke inhalation occurrence at shaft number six.
Mokgwabone said the police were trying to establish if the bodies were linked to the incident alleged in the video.
