A South African High Court has ordered the police to end a standoff with illegal miners and allow emergency workers to gain access to a shaft where hundreds are believed to be holed up. The ruling follows growing concerns about the well-being of the illegal miners who have been below the ground for a while now, this, after police cut off food and water supplies. On Friday, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said in a statement it was investigating the police for restricting the miners’ essential supplies. There was an outcry last week when Cabinet Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters that the government would not send any help to the illegal miners because they are involved in a criminal act. “We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped. We didn’t send them there," Ntshavheni said.