South Africa's Supreme Court comes to the aid of trapped miners: 'Entrances may no longer be sealed'

stilfontein - The Supreme Court of South Africa has demanded that the police no longer block the entrances to the abandoned gold mine in the city of Stilfontein.

In Stilfontein, there has been an increasing crackdown on illegal mining. Recently, the entrances to the gold mine in the city were sealed off by the police, leading to hundreds of miners being trapped underground. 'We do not offer assistance to criminals,' said responsible minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. 'We will smoke them out until they surface. Criminals should be prosecuted.'

However, the Supreme Court of South Africa has come to the aid of the trapped miners and demanded that the police no longer block the mine. 'All miners who are trapped are allowed to come out,' the judge ruled. 'No person, private organization, or government agency shall seal the mine.'

The conditions in the more than 2500-meter deep mine are dire. Temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees, and there is little oxygen. On Wednesday, five miners were pulled out of the mine via a rope, and they were in poor health. The exact number of miners still trapped is unknown, with police estimating it to be around 350 to 400 people, while other sources suggest that it could be thousands of miners.