A South African court has ordered the police blockade of a disused gold mine, where hundreds of people are illegally staying, to be lifted.
Emergency services have been at the site in Stilfontein, about 150 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg, for several days. Police have blocked food and water from entering the mine to, as one minister put it, “smoke out.”
The miners – who have been underground for a month – have so far refused to leave the mine for fear of being arrested. Among them are undocumented migrants who also fear deportation.
Police welcomed the order but said it would not stop them from arresting miners leaving the mine.
On Saturday, a court in Pretoria ruled that the mine “may not be blocked by any person or institution, whether government or private sector”.
It also said that every person in the mine should be able to exit the mineshaft, and that “no personnel other than emergency services should enter the mineshaft.”
The ruling comes after dozens of volunteers entered the abandoned mine to help the miners, who reportedly resorted to eating vinegar and toothpaste to survive. Volunteers said they recovered a body from the mine on Thursday.
It also comes as police called in experts to assess the integrity of the mine shafts, to make a decision on whether to carry out a forced evacuation, according to news agency AFP.
[BBC]
Yasmin Omar, a lawyer who helped with the lawsuit, told state broadcaster SABC that the ruling was a temporary order “that will at least allow us to get emergency aid to the people.” [who] need it.”
She said a full hearing on the case will take place on Tuesday.
“These people underground are dying,” Omar said, adding that the ruling means officials must do “whatever is reasonable to provide medical care to the people underground.”
In a statement, the South African Police Service (SAPS) welcomed the court order, stressing that it does not prevent officers from making arrests.
It said: “Anyone who resurfaces will be further assessed by emergency medical personnel on site, as has been the case.
“Those who are in good health will be treated and detained. Those requiring further medical care will be taken to hospital under police guard.”
The SAPS added that as of 4pm local time (2pm GMT) on Saturday, three of the miners had resurfaced.
More than 1,000 miners have already been surfaced and arrested.
South Africa is a mineral-rich country. According to official estimates, the country holds almost 30% of the world’s gold reserves and 88% of all platinum reserves.
But many mines have closed in recent years and miners have been laid off, contributing to a black market that costs the South African government hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
In an effort to survive poverty, miners and undocumented migrants are increasingly entering closed mines to excavate their remaining supplies.
Some spend months underground, and illegal mining has created a small economy that supplies food and cigarettes to the miners.
However, authorities are keen to put an end to this practice. Illegal miners are sometimes recruited by criminal gangs and may be armed.
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Volunteers enter the South African shaft to help miners
