KLERKSDORP - Around 4,500 alleged illegal miners remain underground in Klerksdorp.
They are refusing to resurface despite having food and water supplies cut off.
It was cut by police and soldiers conducting a Vala Mgodi operation.
WATCH | Illegal Mining | Reports suggest more miners underground
Over a thousand of their colleagues have come up and have been arrested.
A community leader says the men are weak and in declining health.
He's calling on the community to come together to see how they can get them out.