Rescuers and volunteers have pulled at least 78 dead miners and more than 160 survivors from an abandoned South African gold mine

Hundreds are still trapped at the Stilfontein gold mine, a rights group said. Authorities tried to flush out the miners by depriving them of food and water.

Residents desperately waiting for news of family members gathered at the mine, some holding placards criticizing authorities for their response.

At least 100 illegal miners have died and more than 400 remain trapped underground after a months-long standoff with police, rights groups say.View on euronews

A group representing informal miners in South Africa says at least 100 men who were mining illegally in an abandoned gold mine have died after being trapped deep underground for months while police tr

By Nellie Peyton and Bhargav Acharya STILFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) -At least 78 illegal miners have been pulled out dead from a South African mine where police blocked food and water supplies for months in what trade unions described as a "horrific" state crackdown on desperate people trying to eke out a living.

South African authorities lifted the bodies of 60 people from an abandoned gold mine, police have said. Hundreds more people could be underground following a monthslong effort to force them out of the mine.