Several hundred people are believed to remain in an illegal mine in South Africa after the government cut off vital supplies and refused to help them, in a dramatic bid to crack down on the industry.

South Africa's government says it will let thousands of illegal miners starve until they accept their fate and emerge from an abandoned shaft to face arrest.

An estimated 4,000 illegal miners are still trapped underground at an unused mine in Stilfontein, North West Province of South Africa.

Upwards of 4,000 illegal miners are believed to be inside an abandoned shaft in the country's North West province. A government minister warned, "we are going to smoke them out."

Miners are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport supplies.

Police closed off the entrances for moving supplies underground, cutting off miners’ supplies to force them to resurface for arrest.

A community rescue effort to help illegal miners trapped in a mine shaft in South Africa emerged after police said they wouldn't help.

The South African government says it has put together a team including mine rescue experts to come up with a plan to bring to surface illegal miners who remain under a disused gold mine