By Thando Hlophe STILFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) -Desperate relatives of possibly hundreds of illegal miners stuck underground in a disused mine shaft in South Africa waited outside the site on Friday in the hope that their loved ones would emerge safely.

Several hundred people are believed to remain in an illegal mine in South Africa after authorities cut off their supplies and refused to help them, in a dramatic bid to crack down on the industry, CNN’s Victoria Rubadiri reports.

Desperate family members of illegal miners believed to number in the hundreds waited outside a disused mine shaft in South Africa on Friday in the hope of their loved ones emerging from the hole in the ground.

Police say they are trying to force the miners — believed to have been underground for several weeks — to resurface