Human Interest
Farmworker dies after shooting himself with animal sedative─── 14:21 Mon, 27 Nov 2017
Polokwane – A farmworker died on Friday morning after he accidentally shot himself with a darting gun on a game farm near Saamboubrug, north of Lephalale, Limpopo police said on Monday.
Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the 30-year-old man was with a game farmer, 45, and another employee, 28, when the freak accident occurred.
The men were allegedly tracking a buffalo which had escaped from its enclosure.
The man is believed to have shot himself after he was handed the gun by the farm owner shortly after 09:00, Mojapelo said in a statement.
"He immediately started shivering and was rushed to a hospital in Polokwane, where he later died... apparently due to the effect of the animal darting substance."
The man was of Zimbabwean descent.
Mojapelo said a case of culpable homicide had been opened against the farm owner for allegedly allowing the deceased, who did not have the necessary licence, to use the darting gun.
"Legal gun owners are once again warned to always adhere to laws governing the handling of firearms, as the police will not hesitate to take strong actions against non-compliance," Mojapelo said.
