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 the government cut off vital supplies and refused to help them, in a dramatic bid to crack down on the industry.

South Africa's government says it will let thousands of illegal miners starve until they accept their fate and emerge from an abandoned shaft to face arrest.