Two illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe were trampled to death by elephants on Friday night while trying to cross into South Africa illegally through a game reserve along the Limpopo River in that country, police have said.

The police spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) in Matabeleland South province, Insp Tafanana Dzirutwe, said the incident occurred on Friday, 4 April, at around 20:00 at Nottingham Game farm, outside Beit Bridge town.

"The two victims, a male and a female, intended to cross into South Africa through an illegal entry point along the Limpopo River and they then encountered a herd of elephants while trudging through the bush in Nottingham game reserve, resulting in their being trampled to death by the jumbos," he said.

The two were, however, discovered by some farm employees the following morning and a report was then made to the local police who subsequently conveyed the bodies to the Beit Bridge Hospital mortuary.

One of the deceased was identified as Patrick Matshila (46) from Masvingo area, while the other one is unknown.

"We are now appealing to anyone with a missing female relative to contact your nearest police station, so that we can eventually identify the other victim. As police, we also would like to urge people to desist from using undesignated entry points to enter into South Africa as they risk being attacked by wild animals. Border jumping is also an illegal practice, liable to prosecution," he said.