Cape Town - The bodies of three people simultaneously washed up on Mnandi Beach on Thursday.
Police are now trying to confirm whether two of the bodies belong to the two young men, aged 17 and 25, who apparently drowned on Monday.
Cops initially believed that only two bodies had washed up on Thursday morning, but later revealed a third body had been found.
Police said post-mortem operations will be done to determine the cause of their deaths, to rule out whether the people had drowned or if foul play can be suspected.
Images of the bodies went viral on social media.
Swollen
In one photo, the body of a naked adult man can be seen lying on the beach with a swollen abdomen.
Police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk, says a full-scale investigation has been launched.
He said it was rare for three bodies to wash up at the same time.
He said the SAPS Diving Unit was sent out to Mnandi Beach on Monday where two males, aged 17 and 25, allegedly drowned, but their bodies were not found.
Cops were called out to the beach early Thursday after two bodies were found at the beach, and a third was discovered hours later.
“The bodies are now three which were found. A post-mortem will be done as part of the investigation.”
The gender of the third body has not been revealed and Van Wyk said a missing person’s docket has been opened at the Mitchells Plain Police Station with regards to this incident.
A witness at the scene told the Daily Voice: “Three bodies washed up, we saw it.
“They first placed one body inside the morgue van and had the one on the ground and the other was on the rocks.”
The men, who are believed to have drowned on Monday, were said to be from Delft and Port Elizabeth.
A friend, who alerted authorities, claimed the men got into difficulty while swimming.