Community members watch as Senzo Mchunu, South African police minister, inspects outside the mineshaft where it is estimated that hundreds of illegal miners are believed to be hiding underground, after police cut off food and water as part of police operations against illegal miners, in Stilfontein, South Africa, November 15, 2024. REUTERS/Ihsaan Haffejee
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday lives should not be put at risk in a standoff between police and hundreds of illegal miners stuck underground in a disused mine shaft and the miners should be recovered safely.
The police have blocked miners' supplies of food and water to force them out and arrest them for illegally entering the abandoned mine in North West province in search of leftover gold - an issue that has plagued South Africa for decades.
