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.

South African police have ended a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine where hundreds of illegal miners were trapped for months and say they believe they have rescued all the survivors and retri

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.

One hundred and eighteen illegal miners have been extracted from the Stilfontein mine in South Africa on Monday and Tuesday as part of a rescue operation, of which 36 were certified as dead, police said in a statement on Tuesday.

The final phase of the operation to rescue hundreds of illegal Stilfontein miners continues. Since the third phase began on Monday, more than 132 zama zamas, have been brought to the surface. READ: Illegal mining | Police,

South African rescuers have pulled out 36 dead bodies and 82 survivors from a gold mine deep underground in two days of operations, police said on Tuesday, adding that the survivors would all face illegal mining and immigration charges.