South African authorities find the bodies of 3 missing police officers in a river

JOHANNESBURG — South African authorities on Tuesday said they had recovered the bodies of three police officers from a river near the capital after they went missing last week.

Police said they also found two other bodies in the Hennops river, and it was not immediately clear who they were.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of crime in the world.

“We don’t want to speculate at this stage what led to the discovery of these bodies in this river,” national police commissioner Fannie Masemola said. “Whether it was an accident or not, our investigation will reveal those aspects once we find their vehicle.”

The three off-duty officers had been missing since Wednesday. Police said relatives identified their remains. Pieces of the officers' vehicle were found near the river.

Police had said the officers were last seen at a gas station on their way to Limpopo province from Bloemfontein.