A group of school children abducted by several gunmen — on the run after a cash-in-transit heist — have been returned safely to their parents.

Police and security personnel had staged a desperate search for the taxi full of children‚ which had been hijacked while dropping a child at the Fairy Glen crèche in Pinetown‚ Durban.

This followed a bloody heist in the central business district‚ which claimed the life of a guard and left another critically wounded.

A teacher from Fairy Glen‚ who requested anonymity‚ said that she watched the dramatic hijacking play out from inside the school.

“I saw the taxi pull up at the gate and the driver didn’t come inside like he usually does…then I saw the four guys with guns around the taxi‚” she said.

“The kids were screaming inside the taxi and the little boy who was being dropped off here ran inside crying‚ he had just managed to get out in time.”

“He is fine now in class and we called his parents to let them know that he’s okay.”

Police sources‚ who had been part of the search‚ said that the stolen minibus had been found in KwaDabeka after breaking down.

The gunmen had abandoned the taxi and the children and fled into the township.

Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said that a team of forensic investigators had arrived at the scene of the shooting and had begun processing evidence.

“The security guards were depositing money at the corner of Dale and Moodie Streets when a group of unknown suspects opened fire. A security guard died at the scene while the other sustained injuries and taken to hospital for medical attention‚” she said.

“A suspect in his fifties was also arrested at the scene. An undisclosed amount of cash was also taken. The suspects fled in their getaway vehicle. Charges of cash-in-transit‚ murder and attempted murder are being investigated by Pinetown SAPS.”