South African rescuers have so far pulled 78 bodies and rescued 166 people from the Stilfontein gold mine over three days of operations, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told reporters at the scene on Wednesday.

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,

South African police ended a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine on Wednesday and said they believe they have brought out all the survivors and retrieved all the bodies.