The miners are suspected to have died of starvation and dehydration, although no causes of death have been released.

The death toll in a monthslong standoff between police and miners trapped while working illegally in 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.

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

A rescue mission is underway for the hundreds of illegal miners thought to still be underground in a disused shaft in South Africa

South African authorities have ome under intense scrutiny for their response after civic groups said hundreds of miners have been trapped deep in an abandoned gold mine for months

No more illegal miners are believed to be trapped underground at a gold mine in South Africa, volunteers working with rescue teams have said.