A 22-year-old woman died after her aircraft crashed and exploded one kilometre after takeoff. Picture: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
A young woman died after the aircraft she was flying crashed in Kroonstad on Wednesday.
Free State Police spokesperson, Sergeant Josephine Rani, said it was reported that a 22-year-old woman took off with her crop spray single-seat aircraft at Kroonstad airfield for her final assessment to become a crop spray pilot.
"At about 1 km from the airfield, the aircraft crashed and exploded. An inquest has been registered and the investigation continues," Sergeant Rani said.
In a separate incident, a four-year-old girl who was reported missing in Selosesha was found dead on Wednesday.
Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli said the girl was found dead behind a toilet.
The little girl's mother reported her missing after she could not find her. She had reportedly asked for permission from her mother to go to the outside toilet on Tuesday.
Her mother went to look for her since it had been a long time since she requested to go outside.
Selosesha police were called to the scene, and a search party joined by the community was launched and the missing person's file was registered.
Sergeant Kareli said the neighbour found her behind her parent's toilet on Wednesday morning.
Paramedics and the police were called to the scene, and she was declared dead at the scene.
Selosesha police opened an inquest for further investigation as no visible injuries were found on the child.
"The postmortem will determine the cause of her death.
"Selosesha police are pleading with anyone who might have information on what happened to the child to contact Detective Captain Theodora Sekwena on 051 873 1956 or 0825538208," Kareli said.
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