South Africa police vow to arrest illegal miners at Stilfontein

A court says emergency workers must be allowed to enter a mine where hundreds are thought to be without food and water.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersPolice vow to arrest South African miners as standoff continuesReutersSouth African police say they will continue to arrest any illegal miners who emerge from a disused gold mine where hundreds, possibly thousands, of people are in hiding.

This follows a court order which said the mine-shaft in Stilfontein, around 90 miles (145km) south-west of Johannesburg, should not be blocked.

Emergency services have been at the site, for several days. Police have been preventing food and water entering the mine to, as one government minister put it, "smoke them out".

The miners - who have been underground for a month - have so far refused to exit the mine over fears of being arrested. Among them are undocumented migrants who also fear deportation.

Some South Africans have heavily criticised the government's hardline policy and, in recent days, the police have been allowing volunteers to go down to see the miners and some have been taking small amounts of food and water.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czj71kj1jlmo

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