By Nellie Peyton and Bhargav Acharya STILFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) -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,

The clampdown on illegal mining cut off food and water to hundreds of miners underground. At least 78 bodies were pulled from a mining shaft this week, and more are believed to remain underground.

JOHANNESBURG -- A total of 246 survivors and 78 bodies have been brought to the ground over three days of rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, the police said Wednesday night.

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.

Rescued miners are seen as they are processed by police after being rescued at the mine shaft where rescue operations are ongoing as attempts are made to rescue illegal miners who have been underground for months,

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.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African authorities have pulled at least 60 bodies from the shaft of a closed gold mine more than 2 km (1.2 miles) underground where an unknown number of men are still feared trapped,

Rescuers have spent Tuesday pulling body bags and survivors from a South African mine where scores of illegal miners are still thought to be at least 2km (1.2 miles) underground. Eighty-two people have surfaced alive from the shaft in Stilfontein since the rescue mission began on Monday,

South African authorities lifted the bodies of 60 people from an abandoned gold mine, police have said. Hundreds more people could be underground following a monthslong effort to force them out of the mine.