14 DAY TRIAL // This past March 30, five South African soldiers lost their lives after their helicopter crashed in South Africa's Krueger National Park.
For the time being, the exact cause of the accident is yet to be determined. However, local high officials wish to reassure both the families of these five South African National Defense soldiers and the general public than an investigation into this helicopter crash is to be carried out.
“On behalf of government and the entire nation, we wish to express our sincere condolences to the families of these five soldiers and may their souls rest in peace,” reads a statement issued by President Jacob Zuma the day following the helicopter crash.
“We certainly hope that investigations will shed light on the circumstances of the crash but the whole country is saddened by the loss of our National Servicemen on duty,” the president went on to add.
Sources say that these five soldiers died while out looking for poachers in South Africa's Krueger National Parks.
Their aerial patrol of the area was scheduled to take place during nighttime, when poachers are presumed to be the most active.
As reported on several occasions, the poacher's habit of killing both elephants and rhinos in order to get their tusks or horns and sell them on the black market constitutes a threat to national security.
Hence the South African National Defense Force's decision to send their soldiers out looking for them.
Thus, these soldiers' patrolling the Kruger National Park by helicopter was part and parcel of an anti-poaching campaign referred to as Operation Rhino.
Conservationists warn that, due to the fact that rhino horns are believed to have medicinal purposes, some people are willing to pay whopping amounts of money for them.
Therefore, despite the tragic death of these five soldiers, efforts to safeguard South Africa's remaining rhino population must continue to be made.