In South Africa a months long stand-off between police and illegal miners in an abandoned gold mine comes to end, with close to 80 found dead in grim recovery operation.

South African rescuers have pulled out 36 dead bodies and 82 survivors from a gold mine deep underground in two days of operations, police said on Tuesday, adding that the survivors would all face illegal mining and immigration charges.

Over two dozen illegal miners were rescued and at least 15 bodies recovered from an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, as operations continued for a second day Tuesday to reach more people who have been underground for months.