Durban - Five people were killed in a shoot-out with police on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, police said on Tuesday.
Spokesman for the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in KwaZulu-Natal, Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo, said the shooting that took place near Shelly Beach on the R61 toll road on Monday night.
He could not provide further details and referred all inquiries to Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, who could not immediately be reached for further comment.
It is understood that members of the Hawks acting on information tried to stop a car they believed had five members of a gang that were responsible for cash-in-transit heists in the Eastern Cape.
Instead of stopping the occupants of the car opened fire and a shoot-out ensued, leaving the five men dead. According to an unconfirmed report published by the South Coast Herald on Tuesday morning several firearms, including an AK47 were recovered following the shootout.