South African police forced 540 illegal miners out of an abandoned mine shaft and arrested them.

Earlier this week, security forces blocked food and water supplies to the miners in an attempt to push them out of the mine.

The miners faced “starvation and dehydration” and were forced to resurface, police said.

People have been out of the mine, located in the North Orkney town, since Saturday, although hundreds are believed to remain in the shaft.

On Sunday, the national police chief encouraged security forces on the ground “not to back down” and “to ensure that the rule of law is restored,” a force statement said.

The statement said that earlier this week, security forces “blocked communities in and around these abandoned mining exchanges in Orkney from delivering packages of food, water and necessities to these illegal miners.”

Police reported on Saturday that 225 miners had resurfaced, but “hundreds, if not a thousand” were believed to be still underground.

In an update on Sunday, the national force said a further 340 had come out of the mine and had been arrested.

Thousands of illegal miners, known as “zama zamas” (“those who try their luck” in Zulu), operate in the mineral-rich country.

National Police Commissioner General Shadrack Sibiya said that since December 2023, more than 13,690 suspects have been arrested in seven provinces.

“We seized 5 million lei ($283,000; $220,000) in cash and uncut diamonds worth 32 million lei ($1.8 million; £1.4 million),” he said .