At least eleven miners have been freed after being trapped under a collapse in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa.  But they’re being charged with illegal mining, so 19 more who’ve been trapped since Saturday are refusing to come out for fear that they will also be arrested.

Earlier claims that 200 miners were trapped were overstated according to authorities.  The abandoned mine located near Benoni, just outside Johannesburg is one of several in the region.  These mines are generally unsafe, and are usually blocked off.  But the miners make their way around the barricades to scavenge for what’s left in crumbling tunnels with old and inadequate equipment.

“They will be offered rescue should they decide to come out,” said Werner Vermaak of South Africa’s ER24 ambulance company, adding “but they will be arrested should they come to the surface again.”

Lacking ladders or ropes, they will not be able to leave the mine without help, Vermaak added.

Police are investigating allegations that the collapse was caused by rival miners who pushed boulders down the shaft.