A South African High Court has ordered police to end a blockade of an abandoned mine shaft in Stilfontein, allowing emergency services access to hundreds of illegal miners believed trapped underground, CNN reports.
The interim ruling, granted on Saturday, mandates that all miners be permitted to exit the shaft without obstruction, according to state broadcaster SABC.
The court order follows mounting concern over the miners’ welfare after police cut off their food and water supplies. At least one decomposed body has already been recovered from the mine, police confirmed. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is currently investigating the police’s actions regarding the restriction of essential supplies.
The incident highlights the escalating government crackdown on illegal mining in South Africa, a problem exacerbated by the country’s numerous abandoned mines.
While welcoming the court order, the South African Police Service clarified that the ruling does not prevent the detention of healthy miners who emerge from the shaft. In a Facebook post, police stated that all miners resurfacing will be medically assessed, with those in good health processed for detention and those requiring medical care transported to hospital under police guard. Police emphasized that operations targeting illegal mining will continue in the Stilfontein area, urging all remaining miners to surface.
By Saturday afternoon, three illegal miners had emerged from the mine, according to police. A separate arrest was also made in Kanana, where a South African national was apprehended at a gold smelting facility. A full hearing on the matter is scheduled for next week. The attorney who helped bring the case to court, Yasmin Omar, described the Saturday order as a temporary measure.
