Sandile Waka-Zamisa

Pietermaritzburg - A pensioner collapsed and died of fright on Monday after a gun accidentally went off inside the central post office in Pietermaritzburg while people were queuing for grants.

A security guard dropped his .38 Special revolver and it went off - scaring the pensioners. Nora Mazibuko, 68, from Bulwer collapsed and died on the scene.

Terrified senior citizens scrambled for safety.

Police spokesperson Henry Budhram said the bullet did not hit anyone.

Mazibuko’s daughter, Philisiwe Mazibuko, who was waiting for her mother outside, said the elderly woman died immediately.

“I went inside soon after the sound and I found my mother lying down. She had stopped breathing, it happened so suddenly, I couldn’t believe she was gone,” she said.

Paramedics were called, but Mazibuko was already dead. The exact cause of her death has not been determined.

“At this stage an inquest will be carried out to determine the exact cause of Mazibuko’s death and a case of negligent discharging of a firearm is being investigated against the security officer,” said Budhram.

Temperatures reached 36°C in Pietermaritzburg on Monday and Mazibuko had been waiting in the long queue in the scorching sun outside for more than five hours before finally reaching the door to the post office.

Source: news24.com