Dozens of men sat and lay together in small caves, some so shallow they couldn’t stand up. The air was wet and stuffy, and wracking coughs echoed in the confined space. Bodies wrapped in fabric and twine were set aside in rows nearby.

The clampdown on illegal mining cut off food and water to hundreds of miners underground. At least 78 bodies were pulled from a mining shaft this week, and more are believed to remain underground.

At least 78 dead bodies have been pulled from an illegal gold mine in South Africa where police cut off food and water supplies for months, in what trade unions called a "horrific" crackdown on desperate people trying to eke out a living.