A manhunt is under way in South Africa after two British tourists were stabbed to death and their bodies dumped in a crocodile-infested river at Kruger National Park. Ernst Marais, 71, and his wife Dina, 73, were visiting the popular game reserve when they are believed to have encountered poachers at an elephant crossing.
The retired couple, from a coastal home about 1,100 miles away, failed to return to their accommodation near the Parfuri Gate on the night of Wednesday, May 20. Their bodies were discovered the following day by a group of tourists watching elephants, floating in the Limpopo River at a spot known as Crook's Corner.
Police believe the victims' hands were tied behind their backs and they were repeatedly stabbed in the upper body before being dragged to the river, which is heavily infested with crocodiles. Their 4x4 vehicle was stolen, and authorities are treating the case as a double murder and hijacking.
A Kruger National Park source said: 'Both had been stabbed in what was clearly a very brutal attack and had been thrown into the river no doubt for the crocs. We have never had an incident like this in the history of the Kruger.' A South African police source added that the couple may have stumbled upon a gang of poachers, who killed them to prevent them raising the alarm.
South Africa is home to the world's largest rhino population and remains a hotspot for poaching, with 352 rhinos killed in 2025. No arrests have been made, and a large manhunt is focusing on the suspects possibly fleeing into Mozambique via unfenced river crossings.
