In South Africa, the death toll from the incident involving illegal miners at an abandoned gold mine has risen to 78. According to police, the bodies of 18 more miners were recovered yesterday from the old Buffelsfontein Gold Mine in Stilfontein.
Since Monday, at least 216 illegal miners have been rescued during the first three days of the government-led rescue operation. Police reported that all 84 miners rescued on Wednesday were arrested.
In August last year, Police began a crackdown on illegal miners in the country. They laid siege to the mine and cut off food and water supplies for months in an attempt to force the miners to the surface.
In South Africa, illegal mining is rampant in commercially abandoned sites by unlicensed miners.