Fired Miners, Police Clash During Raids

Fired miners exchanged gunfire with police trying to seize illegal weapons Friday, killing five people and injuring 50.

Police raided a neighborhood of temporary homes erected by recently fired platinum miners in the hills around Swartklip Mine, 70 miles northwest of Johannesburg, senior police superintendent Pieter du Plessis said.

The miners were dismissed after taking part in an illegal strike, but settled in the hills instead of going to their homes, police said. Most mine workers in South Africa are migrants from rural areas.