Sne Masuku

Sne Masuku

Four security guards were fighting for their lives in hospital after they were wounded in a shoot-out with robbers at a pension pay- point at Mbumbulu, south of Durban.

It is alleged that 25 men attacked the paymasters at Ntiyane Hall just before they began paying the pensioners at 7am.

Hundreds of pensioners who were queueing to get paid said they had to run and dive for cover when suddenly they heard sounds of gunfire everywhere.

None of the pensioners or the employees at the pay-point were injured.

Police spokesman Lunga Jama said there were four cars, each carrying R1million each.

"The robbers fled the scene with R4million in cash travelling in four cars," said Jama.

Jama said police tried to give chase, as the robbers were driving towards the Umlazi area, but they got away.

They abandoned the four cars in the Umlazi township and had jumped into a minibus kombi and fled.

l Hardly two hours later police were called to another cash-in- transit heist incident at a Shell garage in Umlazi.

The driver of the Fidelity Guard vehicle was shot in the leg and in the hand when he allegedly stepped out of the vehicle to pick up money from the garage.

Jama said three suspects attacked the driver as he stepped out of the vehicle.

"They held him at gun-point and managed to take one money box from the vehicle," said Jama.

The robbers fled the scene in a silver Mercedes-Benz.

"A massive search for the robbers in both incidents has been launched, and we expect to make arrests very soon," she said.