A horror crash in the Free State claimed the lives of five people on Friday evening.
The incident took place along the R707 between Marquard and Senekal just before 10pm.
The provincial police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Mmako Mophiring confirmed the death of five people.
Mophiring said two sedan vehicles from Lesotho and South Africa were involved in the head-on collision.
“It's alleged that on Friday, August 23, 2024, at about 9.56pm Marquard police attended the accident on R707 between Marquard and Senekal which involved two vehicles, a black BMW with Lesotho registration number plates with a male driver, and a white KIA with registration with Gauteng registration had a male driver and three women passengers. A total of five people were declared dead on the scene. A case of culpable homicide is being investigated,” Mophiring said.
Police have urged anyone who may be a next-of-kin of the victims to make contact.
The Marquard Station Commander, Warrant Officer Chaotsane can be contacted at 082 466 8266.
In a separate incident, police have sentenced an armed robber from the Northern Cape who had been tracked down in the Free State.
Sekhonola Seatile, 36, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in the Kimberley Regional Court.
The court heard that on August 12, 2022, Seatile and an accomplice entered a shop in Long Street in Kimberley where he threatened the shopkeeper at gunpoint. He robbed the shop of cash, cigarettes, and cellphones. He then locked the shopkeeper inside the store and fled the scene.
He was tracked and traced to the Free State where he was arrested and transferred back to the Northern Cape.