A South African court ordered police to end a standoff with illegal miners to allow emergency workers to gain access to a mine shaft where several hundred are believed to remain after the government cut off vital supplies.

Officials are blocking access to basic supplies for hundreds of people underground in a northwest mine shaft as part of a crackdown on miners.

A court says emergency workers must be allowed to enter a mine where hundreds are thought to be without food and water.

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ordered the Stilfontein, North West, mine where hundreds of illegal miners are reported to be trapped be open to emergency services. An alleged standoff between officials and the miners has sparked fierce debate across the country this week.

The South African government says it has put together a team including mine rescue experts to come up with a plan to bring to surface illegal miners who remain under a disused gold mine.

Several hundred people are believed to remain in an illegal mine in South Africa after the government cut off vital supplies and refused to help them, in a dramatic bid to crack down on the industry.