By Nellie Peyton and Xolani Nhlapo STILFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) -South African rescuers ended their attempts on Thursday to find anyone left in an illegal gold mine where at least 78 people died during a police siege,

Police say the death toll in a monthslong standoff between authorities and miners trapped while working illegally underground at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa has risen to at least 87.

Mine rescue workers work on a cage that was used to rescue trapped miners at an abandoned gold mine, where miners were rescued from below ground, in Stilfontein, South Africa,

By Siyabonga Sishi and Nellie Peyton STILFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) - South African rescuers were making final efforts on Thursday to ascertain whether anyone was left in an illegal gold mine deep underground where at least 78 people died during a police siege,

A deadly siege on an illegal gold mine near Stilfontein, South Africa, has resulted in at least 78 miner deaths, with authorities rescuing 246 survivors. Amidst criticism, the government defends its tactics to combat illegal mining,

South African police lowered a camera down more than a mile (1.5 km) underground into an illegal gold mine on Thursday to ascertain if any survivors or corpses were still there after a months-long siege by authorities in which at least 78 miners died.

South African police said Wednesday they have ended a rescue operation and believe they have brought out all the survivors and retrieved all the bodies from an abandoned gold mine where hundreds of miners were trapped for months while working illegally.