The prospectors were trapped underground for months as police, on orders from South Africa’s government, attempted to starve them out.

The authorities had at one point limited the miners’ access to food, water and other supplies in a blockade that drew criticism from human rights groups.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African rescuers have pulled at least 60 bodies from the Stilfontein gold mine over two days, police said in a statement late on Tuesday.