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.

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.

At least 78 people have died after authorities imposed a blockade on an illegal gold mine here, part of a monthslong standoff between prospectors and a government determined to force them to surface—often by cutting off their food and water.

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, as a local volunteer described the horror of extracting their bodies from deep underground.

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

A deadly siege on an illegal gold mine near Stilfontein, South Africa, has resulted in at least 78 miner deaths, with authorities rescuing 246 survivors. Amidst criticism, the government defends its tactics to combat illegal mining,

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 rescue operation is underway at an abandoned South African gold mine where illegal miners were trapped. Initially, over 78 fatalities have been reported, with survivors being rescued slowly. Civic groups blame government tactics for the disaster,

At least 78 dead bodies have been pulled from an illegal gold mine in South Africa where police cut off food and water supplies for months, in what trade unions called a "horrific" crackdown on desperate people trying to eke out a living.