Police in South Africa have opened fire during clashes with striking workers at the Marikana platinum mine, leaving at least seven people dead, witnesses say. South African media reports put the death toll at 12 or even higher.
Police opened fire after miners carrying machetes defied an ultimatum to disarm, reports from the scene say.
The mine, owned by Lonmin, has been at the centre of a violent industrial dispute exacerbated by inter-union tensions.
Ten people had previously died as a result of clashes since last Friday.
The striking miners had gathered on a rocky hill near Marikana, the third-largest platinum mine in the world.
Some union leaders and police had tried in vain to disperse the crowd, some of whom said they were prepared to die on the hill.
During the clashes, missiles - thought to be either petrol bombs or grenades - were thrown at police, who responded by opening fire, eyewitnesses said.
"There are bodies on the ground; I saw one with a bullet wound on the forehead," one eyewitness told the BBC.
