The police said it was a “tremendous task” to identify the bodies

Identifying bodies recovered from a disused mine shaft in South Africa will be a “tremendous task” this week, a police spokesman said.

Seventy-eight bodies, along with more than 240 illegal miners, have been brought to the surface since Monday as part of a rescue operation, Brig Athlenda Mathe told reporters near the top of the Stilfontein mine.

They had been underground since at least November.

The authorities then stepped up their efforts to end illegal mining activities by surrounding the entrance to the bridge and allowing food and water to flow down.

The police always said the miners were free to leave at any time.

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The mine has been cleared of corpses and survivors, the police say.

Only two of the dead have been identified so far, Brig Math said.

“(Some of the bodies) were decomposed bodies that appeared mostly as bones,” he added.

DNA tests are being carried out, but another challenge to find out the identities is that “(of those found) most are undocumented migrants”, he added. Their families may not be aware that they were down the first mine.

Most of the survivors were from neighboring countries such as Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

A trade union and rights activists have accused the authorities of overseeing a massacre.

But the police have defended their actions, saying they were dealing with criminality and that it was the kingpins responsible for illegal mining who were trying to control the flow of supplies and prevent people from resurfacing.

During their visit on Tuesday, the police and mines minister were insulted and told to leave by an angry crowd who blamed the government for the death.

Police said more than 1,500 miners were brought to the surface before the rescue operation began.

However, others remained underground because they feared arrest or were forced to stay there by the gangs that control the mine.

Many mines in South Africa have been abandoned over the last three decades by companies that were no longer economically viable.

The miners, often ex-workers, have been taken over by gangs that sell the minerals they find on the black market.

It includes the Stilfontein mine, 145 km (90 miles) southwest of the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, the focus of government efforts to curb the illegal industry.

A rescue cage was making trips down a shaft to reach the miners who were at least 2 km (1.2 miles) underground.

Many of the survivors had been without food and water since November, leaving them lightheaded. They are now receiving medical attention.

Authorities say they are accused of illegal mining, violation of immigration laws and violations, as most of the miners are undocumented migrants.

“It’s a crime against the economy, it’s an attack on the economy,” said Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe on Wednesday as he defended his crackdown on miners.

South Africa relied heavily on miners from countries like Lesotho and Mozambique before the industry went into decline.

Unemployment in South Africa is currently over 30% and many former miners say they have few alternative sources of income.