Two Comoro Islands tourists hijacked in Hazyview

A 31-year-old resident from the Comoro Islands had to make a critical decision after she and her husband were attacked on the road between Hazyview and the Phabeni Gate of the Kruger National Park (KNP).

According to Linda Grimbeek, COO of the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism, the French couple, whose names are known to Lowvelder but are withheld on request, were only a few kilometres from Phabeni Gate on Monday April 29 when three men appeared from some thickets and forced them to stop.

Grimbeek said the three held the couple at gunpoint, got in with them and forced them to drive on.

Moments after they started driving, the woman told her husband in French that they should jump out of the car. She said the woman pulled up the handbrake, but only her husband managed to get out in time.

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One of the hijackers jumped into the driver seat and drove off. When the vehicle started speeding up, the woman also managed to jump out.

A member of the community took the couple to the nearby Matikwana Hospital in Mkhuhlu for treatment.

According to Walter Shongwe, the manager of Africa Safe EMS, they were called out to the hospital later that afternoon and transferred the injured couple to Mediclinic Nelspruit.

Shongwe said the woman had sustained several abrasions and had a hematoma on the back of her head.

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After treatment at Mediclinic, both the man and woman were discharged, said Liza Pillay, the hospital’s spokesperson.

Grimbeek complimented the way the Lowveld community had assisted and treated the couple.

“They said they will complete their tour of South Africa and will without doubt return to the country for yet another visit,” she said.

Grimbeek says security patrols have been increased on the road to ensure the safety of motorists.

The couple declined to comment on the incident.