South African rescuers have so far pulled 78 bodies and rescued 166 people from the Stilfontein gold mine over three days of operations, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told reporters at the scene on Wednesday.

South African miner describes horrors as people starved to death underground - A miner who spent six months in a disused mine has spoken of the horror he experienced after a police operation cut off f

The South African government has launched a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine in the country’s North West province, where at least 109 men have died, a group representing the miners said, after local authorities cut off vital supplies in a dramatic bid to crack down on the country’s illegal mining trade.

Arguing that the miners had entered the mine without permission, authorities reportedly cracked down by cutting off their access to food and water.

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

Police say the death toll in a monthslong standoff between authorities and miners trapped while working illegally underground at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa has risen to at least 87

The miners are suspected to have died of starvation and dehydration, although no causes of death have been released.

By Siyabonga Sishi and Nellie Peyton STILFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) - South African rescuers were making final efforts on Thursday to ascertain whether anyone was left in an illegal gold mine deep underground where at least 78 people died during a police siege,