Limpopo - Cousins King Ndlovu and Lawrence Khosa, as well as Ndlovu’s brother-in-law Thomas Mabasa, died on the road as they butchered a dead hippo.
The three relatives were among 10 people killed after a van smashed into them on the R529 road in Nkambako village outside Tzaneen in Limpopo on Saturday night.
Eight people died at the scene. Seven others - among them the driver of the van - were taken to Letaba Hospital, according to Limpopo police spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi.
“Two of them died this (Sunday) morning, bringing the number who died to 10,” he said.
The other five men remained in hospital with serious injuries.
“A truck hit a hippo and then the community came out to cut the meat. As they were busy, a van came and knocked them,” said Mulaudzi.
It was believed the dead men and women worked in nearby farms. A process to identify them was under way.
“We have opened a case of culpable homicide and inquest.”
On Sunday, Ndlovu’s distraught wife, Connie Chauke, was inconsolable. His brother, Chocky, said he had taken her to a clinic to be treated for shock.
The couple have two daughters, Lucia, 19, and Sharon, 10.
Ndlovu’s mother, Margaret Modiba, said the tragedy pained her.
Relatives and other mourners sat in the shade of a two-room house to console the family.
Earlier on Sunday, the mayor of Mopani district municipality, Nkakareng Rakgoale, visited some of the affected families.
She said the council would appoint a task team to co-ordinate all preparations for the funerals.
“We are urging our people that when they find an animal on the road, the least they should do is to pull it out of the road and call safety authorities,” she said.
The ANC councillor in the local ward 5, Khazamula Nukeri, said hippos roam the area often at night. “There are many when you drive to Letsitele at night, you must just be careful,” he said.
The Star