More than 63,000 people were killed in crimes and violent traffic incidents in 2009, and fears that foreigners will be caught up in the killing spree during the World Cup have become true today. Three Britons died in a preventable crash of an illegally remodelled truck in the eastern Mpumalanga Province near the border with Swaziland, 18 more suffered severe injuries.
The deaths followed several other incidents involving foreigners. In a hotel where 20 foreign journalists covering the world cup reside, unknown gunmen raided two rooms of sleeping newsmen from Spain and Portugal at 4AM, ransacking the rooms while holding guns to the heads of the shocked Europeans. The gunmen escaped over the fence surrounding the hotel, leaving behind shocked and traumatised victims. In Johannesburg a Portuguese fan was stabbed to death in a botched robbery attempt, while a German woman was raped at her home near Pretoria after refusing to hand over money to home invaders.
On the eve of the opening of WC2010, when Mexico is expected to thrash the home team, the death toll of foreigners has climbed to six since Monday.
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