Dozens of Bodies Recovered From Illegal Mine in South Africa

The South African authorities said on Tuesday that they had pulled dozens of dead miners from a shuttered gold mine where they were working illegally until a blockade during which the police at one point cut off access to food, water and other supplies.

As of Tuesday evening, the police reported recovering 60 bodies and extracting 132 miners who were still alive. The death toll could rise as the government continues the delicate operation, which began on Monday, to get all the miners out.

The authorities moved in after a monthslong standoff that drew criticism from human rights groups but praise from some South Africans, who view illegal miners as dangerous criminals.

It was unclear on Tuesday how many miners remained underground, but activists and the authorities estimated that there could be hundreds.

The blockade of the mine, near Stilfontein, a town about two hours south of Johannesburg, was part of a national campaign to root out illegal miners, who are known locally as Zama Zamas.

In an effort to force the miners near Stilfontein above ground, officers last year began cutting off their supplies by guarding every known access point to the mine and pulling up or severing ropes used to ferry goods underground, images distributed by the police showed.