Police have registered an inquest case for further investigation following the retrieval of four bodies in a submerged car in the Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve outside Harrismith, Free State police said on Sunday.
Private divers visiting the dam discovered the submerged Toyota Tazz on Saturday afternoon and alerted police, Colonel Thandi Mbambo said.
Private towing services assisted to retrieve the car from the dam. Inside the car, four bodies were identified as those of a 35-year-old mother and her three sons aged 13, eight, and five from Lusaka section in Makwane village. The deceased was last seen at the dam at about 9 pm on Friday.
A separate case of arson was registered for investigation on January 5 after the family house and a Toyota Siyaya minibus taxi belonging to the dead woman were found burnt.
No one was at the house at the time of the incident. Further investigation would determine whether there was any connection between the two incidents, as well as the motive behind both incidents, Mbambo said.
– African News Agency (ANA),
