A CANADIAN tourist has been shot dead by a safari guide while enjoying a sunset barbecue with friends.
The 69-year-old visitor was part of a large tour group exploring the reserve to spot the Big Five – elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard in Kruger National Park, South African
Tourists in the Kruger National Park enjoying a game drive taking in lions and rhino which are part of the Big 5 which include buffalo, lion and leopard Credit: bestdestinationtours.co.za
The guests were enjoying an open-air bbq when a gunshot suddenly rang out Credit: Facebook/Jamie Pyatt News Ltd
After an afternoon safari through the 100-year-old park, the guests had pulled over to unwind and enjoy a traditional open-air “beer & braai” experience.
As tourists relaxed and food was being grilled over the fire, a gunshot suddenly rang out, turning the happy scene into panic.
In a freak accident, a firearm allegedly carried by a private guide escorting the group discharged, striking the pensioner and killing him instantly.
Screams erupted as shocked visitors realised what had happened.
The guide was left horrified after discovering his weapon had gone off and hit a member of his own party.
Paramedics rushed to the Phabeni Gate area, around 250 miles north-east of Johannesburg, where first aid was already underway.
But despite desperate efforts the man could not be saved.
A Kruger National Park source said: “I was told there was absolute panic and this gentleman was knocked off his feet and had a bullet wound in his body and was bleeding out.
“So much was done to help him but they could not help him.
“What we do not know is how a firearm came to be off safety and was discharged. It is a total tragedy and everybody including the tourist guide involved were in bits” she said.
Kruger National Park spokesman JP Louw confirmed the guide was not a park ranger, but employed by a private company operating tours inside the reserve.
He said the guests had booked a bush braai experience – a paid safari add-on with food and drinks at a designated site – after their game drive.
Tourists in the Kruger National Park enjoying a game drive taking in the rhino Credit: bestdestinationtours.co.za
Just married pop sensation Dua Lipa and new husband Callum Turner visited the park where three tourists have now been killed Credit: @dualipa/instagram
Spokesman JP Louw said: “Our information so far is that a private guide attached to a concession operator allegedly accidentally discharged a firearm in the Kruger.
“It resulted in a fatal injury to a 69-year-old Canadian tourist to the national park.
“The guest was part of a group who booked outside the park and came in for a bush braai offered by a private concession with a valid permit to allow them in the park.
“This tragic matter is now in the hands of the South African Police” he said.
The horror comes amid renewed scrutiny of safety in the reserve.
Just last month,, just days before it marked its centenary.
Fellow visitors later found the bodies of married couple Ernst Marais, 71, and his wife Dina, 73, floating in shallow water at an elephant crossing, their hands tied.
The couple, from Mossel Bay on South Africa’s east coast, were discovered before predators could drag them away.
Their Ranger 4×4 had been stolen, with investigators linking the attack to suspected poachers crossing from neighbouring Mozambique.
Three suspects have since been arrested in a joint operation – two in Mozambique and one in Zimbabwe – with extradition proceedings underway.
The double killing took place on May 25 near the remote Pafuri Gate in the northern section of the 7,500-square-mile reserve, roughly the size of and attracting over a million visitors a year.
The park, worth an estimated £350m annually to the South African government, includes the notorious Crook’s Corner border area – long associated with poachers, gun runners and smugglers.
In April just married pop sensation and new husband Callum Turner visited the park on safari and posted photos on .
The latest tragedy means three tourists have now been killed in Kruger in under a month.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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