Sixty bodies have been removed from an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, months after a drive to clear out illegal miners, authorities said Wednesday.
Approximately 106 miners have been freed, but hundreds may still trapped beneath.
On Monday, authorities began attempting to remove dead and recover survivors after villagers expressed concerns that over 100 people had died in the mine near Stilfontein, approximately 140 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.
The mine runs 2.6 kilometres (1.6 miles) underground, and a specialised machine was brought in Monday to lift out the miners and the bodies, a handful of people at a time.
South Africans call these miners “zama zamas” — “those who try” in the Zulu language. They’re often migrants from neighbouring countries, accused by residents of criminality.
Police have voiced fears that hundreds more could remain underground, but at a visit to the site Tuesday, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu declined to estimate how many could be there.
More than 1,500 illegal miners have been arrested at Stilfontein since August when authorities first started to remove them.
South Africa has deported 121 of them, police said.
The survivors have appeared emaciated, their legs reduced to skin and bones.
Authorities had at one point tried cutting off food and water supplies to the mine, to force out the miners.
But a court ordered in November that police must end all restrictions at the shaft, allowing people above ground to resume lowering food and water to those below.
