August 28, 18:30
MACHADODORP – Lowvelder can confirm the names of the three people who died in the fatal aircraft accident near Komati Gorge Lodge at midday yesterday.
They are Herklaas Smit (39), Candice Delport (27) and Ernst Labuschagne, general manager of Komati Gorge Lodge.
According to spokesman for SAPS, Brig Leonard Hlathi, no further information is available at present.
Lowvelder is aware of but has not yet made contact with an eye witness to the accident.
August 28, 09:00
MACHADODORP – Little has been confirmed about Saturday’s aircraft accident in which three people died but the SAPS are investigating a case of culpable homicide.
Spokesman for SAPS, Brig Leonard Hlathi, said the names of the people involved in the crash cannot be released at this stage.
Lowvelder can report that the light aircraft crashed between Machadodorp and Carolina at approximately 12:00 yesterday. The type of aircraft is still to be determined but is known to have suffered a post-impact fire.
Two of the bodies retrieved were burnt beyond recognition and the third was partly burnt.
The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has been notified of the fatal aircraft accident and the authority’s investigation will probe the cause of the accident, said SACAA’s Mr Kabelo Ledwaba.
According to Ledwaba, “the aircraft’s point of departure and intended point of landing are still unknown”.
August 27, 18:00
MBOMBELA – Three people died on Saturday afternoon after the plane they were travelling in crashed shortly after taking off from Komati Gorge Lodge.
It is unclear what exactly caused the crash.
The victims are well known in the Lowveld.
Their names are known to the newspaper, but are being withheld until certainty is obtained that their families have been informed.
Lowvelder will keep readers informed as details become available.
- Read more:
Vygeboom Dam aircraft crash: pilot still critical
Body of pilot retrieved from plane wreck
