Waste workers stumble upon charred body

THE charred remains of an unidentified body were discovered in bushes next to Old Grahamstown Road in Port Elizabeth yesterday.

EnviroServ Waste Management workers found the remains on a gravel road at about 11.15am and called the police.

Police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge said: “We are not sure what the motive for this murder is but we suspect that tyres were used to torch the body.

“Whether the person was alive or dead at that stage, we do not know.”

He said the body was so badly burnt, police were unsure if it was male or female.

Beetge said police were investigating if the incident was linked to mob justice.

In another incident, police found the body of a woman floating in the North End lake at about 7am.

Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said while the woman’s identity was unknown, it was thought she had lived on the streets in the North End area. Detectives are trying to locate relatives. “The cause of death is not yet known. However, there are no obvious signs on her body to suggest murder,” she said.

“Once a postmortem has been concluded, we will know the exact cause of death.

“At this time we do not know if anything is missing or stolen.”

She said an inquest investigation was under way but this could be changed depending on the coroner’s report.