Three nurses were hijacked with their mobile clinic between Tsolo and Maclear on Tuesday, the Eastern Cape health department said.
Their assailants crashed the vehicle shortly after they hijacked it at about 4pm, health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said.
It was not known what condition the nurses were in and no arrests have been made. Health MEC Bevan Goqwana was on his way to the scene on Tuesday afternoon.
Kupelo said the incident would affect health services in the area, as nurses would no longer be willing to work there. There are around 200 mobile clinics operating in the Eastern Cape.
”We are giving nurses incentives to work in rural areas. Now by attacking them, they are chasing them away. This is going to affect services in the rural areas,” Kupelo said.
A nurse was raped at a clinic in the province two years ago, he said. — Sapa/AFP