Manhunt after hikers stabbed at Silvermine

POLICE are still searching for a group of armed men who attacked a party of hikers with knives on the Silvermine hiking trail between Silvermine and Kalk Bay.

Nine hikers were targeted in two attacks, One person has been seriously injured.

The incidents took place within minutes of each other after the group of hikers encountered two men, who looked like hikers and joined their group.

According to the Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSR) spokesperson, Johan Marais, the men walked alongside the hikers for about 30 minutes before attacking them, leaving at least five people injured.

The WSR team were alerted to the first attack around 9.20am on Saturday, and according to Marais, the hiking group scattered to escape their assailants. The injured were hoisted by helicopter to various hospitals.

Imelda Van den Berg, who was hiking on Saturday, described the scene as a “blood bath” after she and fellow hikers discovered the group of hikers with stab wounds on their heads, backs and bodies.

Van den Berg posted her experience on Facebook saying “one guy had blood pouring down his face and another girl was lying in her own blood with a stab wound on her back. They were in a group of nine and the rest of them were at various points on the route, stabbed in the chest and head.

“The others who couldn’t run away were in severe condition. Two guys with knives just went for them. They didn’t even try to take their stuff. They went on a stabbing spree with the intention to hurt and kill.”