The Department of Home Affairs plans to reinforce transit visas after eight foreigners were arrested at OR Tambo International Airport for attempting to enter South Africa illegally last week.

They entered a network of tunnels via a fire prevention system, officials said.

The four illegal Bangladeshi and four illegal Pakistani nationals allegedly arrived on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha.

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the group, that was supposed to move through to the transit lounge to go to the country they were supposed to go, instead took a ‘detour’.

The police officer who is part of the security at the airport noticed and followed the group. The foreigners were found entering the fire system at the airport, where they were presumably going to hide out for a while.

According to Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, because South Africa does not have transit visas, that has made it easy for illegal foreigners to make their way illegally into the country.

Security at OR Tambo has been beefed up.

The video below shows police coaxing some of them out of the fire hydrant.

Video credit: @Abramjee on Twitter