The South African Police Service has confirmed that the vehicle pulled from the Hennops River in Centurion is the same VW Polo in which three police officers went missing last week.
The confirmation comes after investigators recovered personal items from the wreckage, including a white handbag, a charger, a black wallet, multiple sets of keys, and the car’s service handbook.
The officers had been reported missing while traveling from Bloemfontein to Limpopo on official deployment. Their bodies were recovered from the same river earlier this week. Police say investigations are ongoing to determine the exact circumstances that led to the vehicle ending up in the river.
National Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola, described the recovery as a painful relief. He said the forensic division would immediately begin an investigation to determine what may have led to the crash.
“What a painful relief, however, at least we are quite happy that after hard work, we can indeed say the car has been recovered and actually not far from where we suspected it went through. It has been recovered by the team.
“I was told the team said this morning they realised the water level was quite high. Somewhere downstream, the river was blocked by debris, which they unblocked, and the water started flowing. The river subsided a bit and during the search, they found the car here.
“You’ll recall yesterday they found parts of the car, including the bumpers, and now they’ve found the entire vehicle. We think there is at least some relief and closure, now that the car has been found. I’m sure every one of you can see the condition of the car.”
Masemola further stated that an investigation into the vehicle will be conducted to determine exactly what happened.
“From what we can see with the naked eye, it appears the car capsized first before it impacted the wall and the barrier on the side, and then eventually went into the water.
