GEORGE NEWS - According to police, no foul play is suspected in the mysterious death of an unknown man who was burnt beyond recognition in his car in Wilderness on Friday 4 December.
Police are investigating the incident and have yet to find the owner of the vehicle, a Ford Kuga with a GP registration number, and could not say if it was the body of the owner who was found in the vehicle. Family members of the owner were only tracked down on Tuesday and will arrive in George soon to assist police with the identification process. DNA tests will be done for positive identification.
This week Captain Malcolm Pojie, Southern Cape Police spokesperson, said the preliminary results of the autopsy show no indication of foul play.
The police have a strong suspicion of who the deceased is, but will not release his name until the deceased has been positively identified.
The police have opened an inquest docket and forensic experts were on the scene again on Saturday to look for leads.
Rumours were rife on social media that the deceased was shot by five men, who were seen at the vehicle before it caught fire. Pojie says no bullets or bullet casings were found in the car or on the scene. The deceased also did not have any bullet wounds and no gun was found.
Pojie asked the public to refrain from spreading unfounded rumours on social media, but urged anyone with actual information to contact the George Detective Branch on 044 803 4417.
The body found inside the vehicle was burnt beyond recognition.
Cause of Kuga fire investigated
An Internet search shows that the Ford Kuga has been in the news numerous times due to fires unexpectedly breaking out under the bonnet. In at least two cases, both in England, the fires were blamed on the jet washers that overheated. The latest incident occurred just over a month ago when a Kuga, belonging to a woman from Crawley in the UK, caught fire, apparently due to a jet washer problem.
Initial reports indicate that the fire that killed the driver and gutted the Kuga on Friday evening, started near the front windscreen.
According to an article published by www.iafrica.com on 27 November 2013, Ford recalled thousands of Kugas in South Africa and Europe (there called Escapes) that month because of engine fire risk. The article reads, "The vehicle in question is a 2013 model equipped with the 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine, manufactured between October 2011 and June 2013. Some 139 917 vehicles affected by the recall are at risk of localised overheating of the cylinder head, which could lead to an oil leak resulting in fire."
An e-mail with detailed questions to Ford Motor Company spokesperson, Rella Bernades received the following response, "We are aware of this tragic event and our heartfelt condolences go out to the friends and family of the deceased. We are standing by to assist the authorities in their ongoing investigation, but have not had access to the vehicle as yet.
"The 2013 Ford Kuga manufactured in Valencia, Spain is not part of any recall campaign. We conduct very thorough testing on all our vehicles to ensure our products meet all safety standards. We take every safety critical issue very seriously, irrespective of formal recall procedures in order to constantly improve the products we sell."
ARTICLE: LIZETTE DA SILVA AND ILSE SCHOONRAAD, GEORGE HERALD
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