Two men died when their light aircraft crashed on a farm near Van Reenen on Saturday afternoon, said Free State police.
The two-seater light aircraft went down approximately 45km south of Harrismith, near the N3 freeway, said ER24 spokesperson Riana Beech.
According to witnesses on the scene, the aircraft had completed several flights during the day. ”On the last flight it suddenly made a nose-dive, straight into the ground,” Beech said.
The men were thought to have family members on the farm, said police Superintendent Israel Maseko. He did not have their names. Their bodies were taken to the Phuthaditjhaba mortuary in Qwa Qwa. There was no one else on board.
Maseko said the cause of the crash, on the Fullerton farm on the Free State side of Van Reenen, was not immediately apparent. The weather in the area was clear.
Only police were able to reach the scene as officials of the KwaZulu-Natal road traffic inspectorate did not have the 4×4 vehicles needed to access the area, said spokesperson Zinhle Mngomezulu.
However, ER24 paramedics did reach the crash site at about 6pm, said spokesperson Riana Beech.
The Civil Aviation Authority was to start an investigation at the crash site on Sunday. — Sapa