By Siyabonga Sishi and Nellie PeytonSTILFONTEIN, 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,

STILFONTEIN, South Africa (AP) — The death toll in a monthslong standoff between police and miners trapped while working illegally underground at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa has risen to at least 87, police said Thursday as they wound down a rescue operation that has pulled more than 240 survivors out from deep underground.

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,