Bodies of nine illegal miners retrieved and 26 people brought to the surface as rescue operation begins - Anadolu Ajansı

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,

More than 17,000 alleged illegal miners, many from neighbouring countries, have surfaced in South Africa during a police operation that has lasted more than a year, and saw the death of at least 78 miners from the abandoned Stilfontein mine.

South African authorities have for years struggled to stop groups of miners from going into some of the gold-rich country's 6,000 abandoned or closed mines to search for leftover deposits. According to officials, South Africa lost more than $3 billion in gold to the illicit trade last year.

Officials have not confirmed claims that there could be more than 100 bodies of illegal miners underground - Anadolu Ajansı

South African officials have arrested more than 100 miners who had been trapped in an illegal gold mine and will detain hundreds more still stuck underground, the country’s mining minister said, despite a judge’s warning that the ordeal risks turning into “the darkest point” in the country’s history following dozens of deaths.

Rescue teams in South Africa have stepped up efforts to pull out survivors and the corpses of illegal miners trapped underground for about two months, following one of the most extraordinary tragedies to hit the industry.

A trade union federation has accused the South African government of wilful negligence.Police in South Africa said Thursday that the death toll at an illegal mining operation in the North West province had risen to at least 78.