South African rescuers recovered 78 dead miners and rescued 166 others from the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine shaft in Stilfontein, Reuters reported.
Police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe provided the statistics at the scene on Wednesday. Rescuers had earlier tried to save hundreds of illegal miners trapped in the abandoned mine for months.
The gold rush escalated last November. As a result, a mine southwest of Johannesburg became the scene of a confrontation between police, miners and local community members.
Large groups of illegal miners went underground for months, carrying food, generators and equipment. Earlier, human rights groups said police blocked their access to food and water provided by assistants from the surface.
