Mvezo - Officials from the sheriff of the court's office broke down a gate to the Mvezo village on Wednesday to gain access to the remains of three of Nelson Mandela's children.
ENCA cameras filmed the official forcing the gate open with a pick-axe.
The former president's grandson Mandla Mandela, chief of the Mvezo village in the Eastern Cape, earlier in the day lost a challenge against a court order instructing him to rebury the children in Qunu.
Three hearses and police vans entered the village by mid-afternoon.
They were to transport the remains of three of Mandela's children back to Qunu, where Nelson Mandela grew up. The elder statesman has reportedly expressed the wish to be buried in Qunu.
Mandla exhumed the graves of the three children two years ago and buried them in Mvezo village
Mandela remained critically ill in a Pretoria hospital on Wednesday, where he is being treated for a recurring lung infection.
The SABC reported that his eldest surviving daughter Makaziwe Mandela and grandson Ndaba Mandela arrived at Mvezo with officials from the health department. - Sapa