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.

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