JOHANNESBURG, Jan 15 — South African authorities have pulled at least 60 bodies from the Stilfontein gold mine over two days, police said late yesterday.

Police began laying siege to the mine in August and cut off food and water supplies for months in an attempt to force the miners to the surface so they could be arrested as part of a crackdown on illegal mining.

On Monday, authorities began recovering men and bodies from a mine shaft more than 2km underground using a metal cage, in an operation that will continue for days.

The police statement said 51 bodies had been recovered yesterday as of 2330 local time (2130 GMT), adding to the 9 bodies recovered on Monday.

Yesterday, 106 survivors were retrieved and arrested for illegal mining, police said. — Reuters