Ms Shireen Hardy was on her way to the school where she teaches, when the two men pounced on her in her Golf.

The men threatened that they would shoot her if she didn’t cooperate and though she never saw any weapons in their possession, panic took over, rendering her numb.

The men sped off with Ms Hardy towards Groblersdal, where they turned off on the Slaghoek road.

The men dropped her off on the gravel road and sped off towards the township.

The driver lost control of the vehicle around a bend, approximately 300 meters from Laventelboom Holiday Farm’s entrance.

He could not regain control and the car left the road, crashing into a ditch, shortly after clearing the bridge crossing the stream.

Ms Hardy said one of her attackers had a beard while the other had protruding teeth.

Both spoke Afrikaans fluently.

A shaking Ms Hardy told police on the scene of the crash that one was dressed in a green overall pants with a visibility strip across the upper legs.

The other was dressed in a blue overall jacket.

Police launched an immediate manhunt for the hijackers, and called on civilians with helicopters to assist with the search, as the police helicopter was docked in Nelspruit at the time.

The men disappeared into the bushy surrounding on foot, and the police’s dog unit was also dispatched to assist in the search.

Ms Hardy’s husband, Juan, arrived on the scene shortly after police found his wife alongside the road.

After giving a brief statement of events to police, Mr Hardy was allowed to take his wife for treatment.

Officers on the scene did not want to press Ms Hardy for too much information, as they were informed that she suffered from an anxiety disorder and could only remember flashes of her ordeal.

The Observer attempted to speak with Mr Hardy, but he declined to comment saying, “my wife has just been hijacked, she is my first priority”.

He however confirmed that to his limited knowledge, Ms Hardy was hijacked in Mhluzi and not in Kanonkop, as family members of Ms Hardy suggested on social media platforms, before she was found.

Police could not supply any clear details of the hijacking before print, since they were still busy combing the scene, where cellphone reception was unavailable.

“We can confirm that a hijacking took place, and that the victim was found without injury,” was all captain Khayisile Zwane told the Observer.

She added that the case was being investigated by Middelburg police.