A South African truck driver was found lying dead near his truck in Beit Bridge last Friday after alleged excessive alcohol usage, police have said.

The local police spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Hosiah Mukombero, said the deceased, whose age was not given, was discovered by a workmate at around 09:00 near his truck, which was parked at a local service station. A bottle of an alcohol was also discovered near the truck driver’s body.

“Our preliminary investigations indicate that the man, who is a South African national, had excessively drunk alcohol the previous night and we suspect that could have contributed to his death. We are still investigating,” he said.

Mukombero could not release the name of the dead man, saying they were yet to inform his next of kin. The body was taken to the Beit Bridge District Hospital mortuary, pending a post mortem.