By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Five members of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) were killed when their vehicle collided with a tree on Saturday in Mpumalanga.
SANDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Mokoena Mahapa, said the members were part of the 9 South African Infantry Battalion deployed to safeguard the country’s borders.
Mahapa said the vehicle apparently lost control after the front tyre burst, and crashed into a tree.
All five people were declared dead on the scene, said Mahapa.
According to Mahapa, the members were travelling from Zonstral to Macademia Operational Base on the Coopersdal Road when the accident occurred.
Defence and military veterans minister Thandi Modise, the chief of the SANDF, members of the military command council and the SANDF as a whole mourned the passing of “these patriotic soldiers and convey their sincere condolences to the families of the deceased”.