South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing calls to order a national inquiry into a police operation that was meant to combat illegal mining but ended up leaving 87 miners to die underground as authorities attempted to force them to surrender during a monthslong standoff.

The prospectors were trapped underground for months as police, on orders from South Africa’s government, attempted to starve them out.

In a police crackdown at an illegal gold mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, 78 people died and hundreds were rescued. The GIWUSA labour union has condemned the state's actions as a massacre, while survivors face charges of illegal activity.