By Nellie Peyton and Xolani Nhlapo STILFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) -South African rescuers ended their attempts on Thursday to find anyone left in an illegal gold mine where at least 78 people died during a police siege,

(250116) -- JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 16, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Rescue vehicles are seen at the rescue operation site of an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein, North West Province, South Africa, on Jan. 16, 2025.

STILFONTEIN, South Africa (AP) — The death toll in a monthslong standoff between police and miners trapped while working illegally underground at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa has risen to at least 87, police said Thursday as they wound down a rescue operation that has pulled more than 240 survivors out from deep underground.

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,

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.

The closed Buffelsfontein Gold Mine was the scene of a standoff in November when police tried to force the miners out by cutting off their supplies.

Mine rescue workers host up a cage that was used to rescue trapped miners at an abandoned gold mine, where miners were rescued from below ground, in Stilfontein, South Africa,

Police say the death toll in a standoff with miners trapped while working illegally at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa has risen to at least 87.

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

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