Police believe that a Canadian couple, found burnt beyond recognition in KwaZulu-Natal’s northern Drakensberg mountains on Wednesday, died in a veld fire.
Spokesperson Superintendent Piet Scott said the couple went for a walk on Thursday and never returned.
”But there was apparently a huge veld fire in that area at the time. Police believe they died in the fire,” said Scott.
The identities of the couple have been withheld until their families have been informed.
They had arrived at the Royal National Park in Bergville on Thursday and booked a cabin.
Jack Haskins, of the police search-and-rescue team, said: ”The couple had paid for their fees from Thursday to Saturday. On the day of their arrival, they were waiting for their cabin to be sorted out. They went for a stroll on the mountain but did not return.”
When they could not be found, KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife sent out a search party to look for their couple. After an intensive search deep within the mountains, the husband and wife were found. They had been burnt to death.
Local Bergville police then broke open the doors to the couple’s vehicle to find contact numbers for their families. ”We found their bags of clothes still in the vehicle. They had not even unpacked,” one of the officers said. — Sapa