Court orders South African police to stop besieging gold miners

The Pretoria High Court in South Africa has issued an interim order allowing all miners currently underground at the Stilfontein mine to exit unhindered, national broadcaster SABC reported.

Yasmin Omar, a lawyer involved in the case, told SABC the ruling was only an interim injunction, and a full hearing would be held next week.

With the situation of illegal gold miners trapped underground becoming increasingly dire, the Pretoria High Court has issued an emergency order allowing all miners to leave.

Police also reported that at least one decomposed body was found in the mine.

The blockade of the Stilfontein mine is part of a growing government and police crackdown on the activities of illegal miners in the country.

"We have about 6,000 abandoned mines across the country," David Van Wyk, principal researcher at the Benchmarks Foundation in Johannesburg, told CNN, noting that when large companies and multinationals fail to properly close mines, these areas become easy targets for illegal gold mining.

The root of the problem is believed to be the country's high unemployment and poverty rates, forcing locals to take on dangerous jobs to make a living.

Although the South African Police Service agrees with the court's decision, they still have the right to arrest illegal gold miners if they do not have health problems.

Police said these illegal activities would continue in abandoned and disused mines in the Stilfontein area, stressing the need for all illegal gold miners to return to the surface.

According to police, three illegal miners had escaped from the mine by Saturday afternoon. Also on Saturday, a South African citizen was arrested in Kanana at a house used as a gold smelter.

Ha Trang (according to CNN)