Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille has expressed her condolences following the discovery of the bodies of a South African couple near a river in the northern section of the Kruger National Park.
In a statement, de Lille said she was saddened by the incident and extended her sympathies to the victims’ family and friends.
"The safety of all travellers is of utmost importance to the tourism industry. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victims," said the Minister.
She added that the tourism sector continues to work closely with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to support tourist safety across the country and called on anyone with information related to the incident to assist police with their investigation.
The couple’s bodies were discovered on Friday after a search operation was launched when they failed to return to their camp on Thursday evening.
Addressing the media at Skukuza at the weekend, South African National Parks (SANParks) spokesperson, Reynold Thakhuli, described the incident as unprecedented in the history of the park.
"I would like to extend our condolences to the family and affected friends as well. It is indeed a tragic incident. We've never really seen this kind of incident in the 100 years of the Kruger National Park. This is the very first time that we are seeing something of this nature," he said.
Preliminary investigations by park rangers have revealed that the couple’s vehicle remains missing. However, evidence suggests the vehicle may have left the park through a fence bordering neighbouring Mozambique.
"The vehicle has not been found, but our rangers have done some preliminary investigations, and it has been discovered that tyre tracks are actually pointing us to the car having exited the park through a fence in Mozambique," Thakhuli said.
He noted that the vehicle did not leave the park through any official gate and that SANParks' surveillance systems had last detected it on the day the couple disappeared.
"We've got technology within the park. We have seen it as it came in, and we've seen it on the days that they were here in the park, but we have not seen it since Thursday when they disappeared," he said.
The incident has prompted SANParks to reassess security measures in remote sections of the park despite the organisation's existing surveillance capabilities.
Thakhuli also said SANParks executives and representatives of the South African Police Service met with the victims' family on Saturday and pledged ongoing support throughout the investigation and repatriation process.
The family is expected to visit the park on Monday.
"We're really going to be supporting the family throughout the entire process," Thakhuli said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Willie Aucamp, said he had been briefed on the incident and had engaged SANParks leadership to ensure continued cooperation with the investigation being conducted by the South African Police Service. – SAnews.gov.za
