Rangers on Friday found a pipe bomb near the south-western border of the Kruger National Park.

SA National Parks (SANParks) spokesman Isaac Phaahla said the park rangers were patrolling with dogs when they spotted two “suspicious individuals” hiding in a pipeline underneath a railway line.

“Upon inspection‚ the rangers also noticed a suspicious device linked to a battery. The bomb squad was summoned to the scene and identified the device as a pipe bomb. The bomb squad detonated the device at the scene‚” he said.

SANParks chief executive Fundislie Mketeni commended the park rangers for their vigilance.

“It is a reminder to all criminals that no activity will go unnoticed and unchecked in any of our parks … It is unfortunate that South Africans who are involved in such affairs do not seem to realise they are hurting their own people and their own country‚ and are in the process destroying their own heritage‚” he said.