Rescuers pulled more bodies from a disused gold shaft in South Africa where the death toll climbed to 78 Wednesday as police finished clearing out illegal miners who had been underground for months. Authorities began trying to remove the bodies and bring up survivors on Monday,

A group representing informal miners in South Africa says at least 100 men who were mining illegally in an abandoned gold mine have died after being trapped deep underground for months while police tried to get them out.

The number of illegal miners who’ve died in a months-long standoff with the South African authorities increased to 51, the security forces said.Most Read from BloombergThese Homes Withstood the LA Fires.