Three Austrian tourists were robbed at knife-point along a notorious stretch of the Eastern Beach on Friday afternoon.
Anna Vaclavek, 20, Micha Pilz, 21, and Lukas Pichler, 22, were in the sand dunes east of the lifeguard shack in the company of East London friend Xabisa Xala, 21, when they were accosted, herded together and robbed by three thugs armed with knives.
The robbery took place at about 3pm not far from the sand dunes where advocate Dali Mpofu was attacked and two Swedish tourists were raped in 2012.
East London police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mtati Tana, said the men demanded valuables before fleeing the scene.
They made off with two iPhone 6s, a Nokia, a Blackberry, credit cards, two Lumix cameras, running shoes and a red leather jacket.
Tana said the combined value of the stolen items was more than R30000.
“No one was harmed. The suspects fled into the bush when they were done,” Tana said.
The hysterical tourists ran towards the Esplanade and flagged down a patrolling police van.
More police were called to the scene.
Tana said police spent hours trying to track the suspects.
“No one has been arrested yet. We have experienced a few robberies lately in the area, but our are working on leads.”
The tourists were booked in at a B&B in Bunkers Hill.
They left East London on Saturday morning for Port Elizabeth.
Tana said a case was opened at the Fleet Street police station.
The lonely, bushy stretch of beach between Eastern Beach and Bats’ Cave, notorious for its violent crime, still has no signs warning people of danger.
Tana said the metro’s beaches were not “no go areas” and people could still visit them as long as they remained “vigilant at all times”. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Tourists robbed at Eastern Beach
Anna Vaclavek, 20, Micha Pilz, 21, and Lukas Pichler, 22, were in the sand dunes east of the lifeguard shack in the company of East London friend Xabisa Xala, 21, when they were accosted, herded together and robbed by three thugs armed with knives.
The robbery took place at about 3pm not far from the sand dunes where advocate Dali Mpofu was attacked and two Swedish tourists were raped in 2012.
East London police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mtati Tana, said the men demanded valuables before fleeing the scene.
They made off with two iPhone 6s, a Nokia, a Blackberry, credit cards, two Lumix cameras, running shoes and a red leather jacket.
Tana said the combined value of the stolen items was more than R30000.
“No one was harmed. The suspects fled into the bush when they were done,” Tana said.
The hysterical tourists ran towards the Esplanade and flagged down a patrolling police van.
More police were called to the scene.
Tana said police spent hours trying to track the suspects.
“No one has been arrested yet. We have experienced a few robberies lately in the area, but our are working on leads.”
The tourists were booked in at a B&B in Bunkers Hill.
They left East London on Saturday morning for Port Elizabeth.
Tana said a case was opened at the Fleet Street police station.
The lonely, bushy stretch of beach between Eastern Beach and Bats’ Cave, notorious for its violent crime, still has no signs warning people of danger.
Tana said the metro’s beaches were not “no go areas” and people could still visit them as long as they remained “vigilant at all times”. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos