DURBAN - According to reports, the rest of the hostages held in Sundumbili, north coast of Durban have been released, after a group of armed suspects accosted the manager and staff of a Boxer outlet earlier on Monday.
The release of the hostages comes after the South African Police Service (SAPS) Special Task Team, K9 unit and a hostage negotiator breached the store.
IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson Dylan Meyrick said: “SAPS Special Task Force and K9 unit have breached the Boxer cash-and-carry. Three staff members have been freed and are currently receiving medical attention. The store is being searched for the suspects ... according to the witnesses who have just been released, there are four suspects believed to be in the shop.”
In an interview with eNCA earlier on Monday morning, police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said officers from the special task force as well as the tactical response team had penetrated the building, accompanied by a hostage negotiator.
Naicker said there were a number of shops in the complex and the police needed to go through them because they did not know where the suspects could be hiding.
“We can’t be 100% sure but from what we’ve seen from the video footage, we counted six suspects in the building, they are all armed with firearms. At this stage from our calculations, there should be at least three staff members that are in the building, there could be more but at this stage, from what we’ve been told, there could be at least three members of staff in the building,” Naicker said.
He said he thought the robbers could have been caught by surprise, because when they initially came, they thought it was going to be quick.
“They held up the staff and when they got into the building, fortunately for us other security officers witnessed what was taking place and they contacted the local police, we immediately responded. Fortunately, the police station is very close to this building and police officers immediately responded and surrounded this building, which prevented them from escaping,” Naicker said.
He said an escape vehicle had been waiting for the robbers, but as soon as they saw the police arriving, the occupants fled.
“At this stage, we’ve circulated the vehicle, the description, unfortunately, is not very clear but our focus now is on trying to free the hostages and taking down the suspects that are in the building,” Naicker said.
He said police did not believe any of the hostages were injured, but could not tell what their condition was.
Naicker expressed hope of ending the operation without any fatalities from both sides and said the police would go through the process very slowly.
This is a developing story.
Daily News