Pipo don begin dey desperate over di rescue of miners for South Africa

Dozens of volunteers don enta one abandoned gold mine for South Africa to help thousands of illegal miners wey don dey trapped underground for one month.

Di miners bin purposely enta di shaft for Stilfontein as dem dey desperate to find gold or mineral deposits.

Authorities bin take hard measure, as dem block di supply of food and water to di area.

Earlier in di week, one goment minister bin tok say: "We go smoke dem out."

Di miners don refuse to co-operate wit di authorities as some of dem be undocumented migrants and dem dey fear say authorities fit deport or arrest dem.

Reports dey say na vinegar and toothpaste di miners dey chop to survive as dem dey underground.

Fear dey say dia health fit fail, and dem fit dey too weak to comot di mine by themselves.

Di volunteers, wey dey organised into three groups of 50, say e go take about one hour to get one persin out.

Lebogang Maiyane don dey volunteer since di beginning of di week.

"Goment no care about di impact on di right to life of di illegal miners wey dey underground – dis dey equal to murder”, e tok.

Dem dey call illegal miners "zama zama" wey mean ("take a chance" for Zulu) and dem dey operate for abandoned mines for di mineral-rich kontri.

South African govment dey lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales evri year.

Many South African mines don close down in recent years and workers don lose dia jobs.

To survive, miners and undocumented migrants dey go underground to escape poverty and dig up gold to sell for black market.

Some dey spend months underground – some pipo dey for di underground wey dia work na to sell food, cigarettes and cooked meals give di miners.

Local residents don beg di authorities to assist di miners, but dem no gree.

"We go smoke dem out. Dem go come out. We no dey send help to criminals. Criminals no suppose get help – dem suppose dey arrested [sic]," Minister for di Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni tok on Wednesday.

Relatives of di miners don dey protest near di mine site, dem hold placards wey dem write: "Smoke ANC out" and "Down wit Minister in Presidency".

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu bin visit di site on Friday, but as e try to follow community members wey dey wait to hear news of dia loved ones for di shaft tok, dem chase am comot.

Thandeka Tom, wey im brother dey di mine, bin condemn di police for not sending help.

"Dem dey tok from one point of privilege, problem of unemployment dey di kontri and pipo dey break di law as dem dey try to put food on di table" she tell BBC.

Police dey hesitate to go di mine as some of di pipo wey dey underground fit dey armed.

Some na part of criminal syndicates or "recruited" to be in one, Busi Thabane, from Benchmarks Foundation, one charity wey dey monitor corporations for South Africa, tell BBC Newsday programme.

Without any access to supplies, conditions underground fit worse.

"No be about illegal miners any longer – dis na humanitarian crisis," Ms Thabane tok.

On Thursday, community leader Thembile Botman tell BBC say di volunteers use ropes and seat belts to pull one body comot di mine.

"Di smell of decomposing bodies don leave di volunteers traumatised," e tok.

E no dey clear how di pesin take die.

Although authorities don block food and water, however, dem temporarily allow local residents to send some supplies down by rope.

Oga Botman tok say dem dey communicate wit di miners by notes written on pieces of paper.

Police don block di entrance and exit to di underground as part of effort to force di miners to come out.

Dem use rope pull out five miners on Wednesday, but dem dey weak and tired.

Paramedics attend to dem and dem carry dem police custody.

Last week, police arrest 1,000 miners.

Police and di army still dey di scene dey wait to arrest those wey no dey in need of medical care afta dem come out.

"E no dey easy as police dey tok – some of of dem dey fear for dia lives," Ms Thabane tok.

Many miners spend months underground in unsafe conditions to provide for dia families.

"For many of dem dat na di only way dem know how to put food on di table," Ms Thabane tok.

Local residents don also try to convince di miners to come out of di mineshaft.

"Those pipo must come out becos we get brothers there, we get sons there, di fathers of our kids dey there, our children dey struggle," local resident Emily Photsoa tell AFP.

Di South African Human Rights Commission tok say dem go investigate di police on top accuse say dem deny di miners of food and water.

Dem tok say dem worry say goment operation fit don get impact on di right to life.

Minister Ntshavheni remarks don provoke mixed reaction from South Africans, as some goment hail di goment as dem no bend for dia approach.

"I love dis. Finally, our goment no dey tiptoe on these serious matters. Decisiveness go help these kontri," one pesin write on X.

While odas feel dis position dey inhumane.

"In my view, dis kind of tok from di Minister in di Presidency na disgraceful and dangerous hate speech," one user tok.

Anoda pesin write: "Dem be criminals but dem get rights too."

Illegal mining na lucrative business across many of South Africa mining towns.

Since December last year, authorities bin seize nearly 400 high-calibre firearms, thousands of bullets, uncut diamonds and money from illegal miners.

Dis na part of one intensive police and military operation to stop di practice wey get severe environmental implications.