SOUTH AFRICA: CRICKET - BODY OF HANSIE CRONJE RECOVERED FROM CRASHED PLANE.

Record ID: 631877

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: CRICKET - BODY OF HANSIE CRONJE RECOVERED FROM CRASHED PLANE.
  • Date: 1st June 2002
  • Summary: FILE, 2000 (REUTERS) CLOSE UP OF CRONJE AND HIS WIFE BERTHA
  • Embargoed: 16th June 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEAR GEORGE/ NORTHERN PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Accidents,Obituaries,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVABQD51RDL6VICTVKEG9RQD28XA
  • Story Text: The bodies of former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje and two pilots have been airlifted from the site of the plane crash that killed them.
    The bodies were carried by helicopter from the mountain crash scene on Sunday (June 2). An autopsy is expected to be conducted on Monday (June 3). No date has been set for Cronje's funeral.
    Cronje, 32, and the two pilots of a Hawker Siddeley 748 cargo plane were killed on Saturday when the aircraft slammed into a mountain near the picturesque town of George in the Western Cape province.
    The cause of the crash has not yet been determined but civil aviation officials have said that the weather was bad in the area when the plane went down.
    Local media reports have said Cronje caught a ride on the ill-fated flight after missing a scheduled one.
    Kobus Crouse, the first person tpo reach the crash scene, told South African television he was shocked at the scene and then surprised when he found out Cronje had been killed.
    Cronje shocked the world of cricket two years ago when he admitted he had accepted around 130,000 US dollars from bookmakers to influence the course of matches. He was banned from professional cricket for life.
    But since the accident praise has poured in from all quarters for the driven young cricketer who displayed dazzling skills on the pitch.
    Former South African President Nelson Mandela paid tribute to his skills as a team captain and was magnanimous in his tribute, saying Cronje was a model of how someone can rebuild his life after hitting rock bottom.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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