The tourists who were found stabbed to death in a crocodile-infested river in South Africa have been identified as retiree Ernst Marais and his wife Dina.

Mr and Mrs Marais, 71 and 73, had driven some 1,100 miles from their retirement village in Mossel Bay on the Western Cape coast for a safari holiday at the country's top nature reserve, the Kruger National Park.

The sanctuary is home to the so-called 'big five' for animal spotters: the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo. 

Investigators fear the Maraises met their end after encountering illegal poachers at an elephant crossing. A huge manhunt is now underway to find their killers.

The couple was staying close to the Kruger's Parfuri Gate in the north of the reserve: staff raised the alarm last week when the couple failed to return to their overnight accommodation.

Their bodies were found in the Kruger's croc-infested Limpopo River by tourists visiting at a viewing spot known as Crooks' Corner. Their green Ford Ranger pick-up truck was nowhere to be found.

Crooks' Corner earned its name as a one-time operating base for ivory poachers, gun runners, slave traders and murderers on the run, historically a piece of no-man's-land between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

It is believed the couple's hands had been tied behind their backs and they had been repeatedly stabbed in the upper body before being dragged to the Limpopo River and dumped for the Nile crocodiles. 

The horrified tourists stood guard over the Marais' lifeless bodies after raising the alarm with South African National Park game rangers and police.

A Kruger National Park source said: 'It was hoped that they had gone off road and broken down after heavy local floods somewhere but then we got a call to say two bodies had been found.

'They were in the river at Crooks' Corner, which has a bit of a notorious reputation, and when our rangers got to the scene they pulled the two bodies up onto the riverbank to wait for police.

'Both had been stabbed in what was clearly a very brutal attack and had been thrown into the river, no doubt for the crocs, and their 4x4 had been stolen so this is a very major incident for us.'

Authorities are concerned the murders - the first in the Kruger National Park's 100-year history - will mar South Africa's £350million-per-year tourist trade.

Around one million tourists are thought to visit the game reserve each year and it was the setting of the recent I'm A Celeb: All-Stars! series. Last month, pop star Dua Lipa posted photos of herself and fiancé Callum Turner on safari in the park.

The Kruger source added: 'We have never an incident like this in the history of the Kruger and we are praying that this does not cause a major tourist kneejerk reaction who decide it is no longer a safe place for them to visit.

'This is an extremely safe national park and this has shocked us all.'

A South African police source suspects the couple may have unexpectedly run into a gang of poachers who killed them to prevent them raising the alarm.

He said: 'Their pick–up truck would have been an easy way to transport anything they were carrying if they were smugglers and there are unfenced ways to get across the river into Mozambique.

'A large manhunt is underway focusing on the assumption they are already out of the Kruger'.

The couple lived in a retirement village, the Fynboshoogte Lifestyle Estate at Mossel Bay, on the famous Garden route loved by British tourists running between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.

The married couple also had a home on a wildlife estate at Hoedespruit in an area known as The Valley of the Elephants close to the Kruger National Park, which they both visited regularly.

A neighbour in Mossel Bay said: 'The police came knocking on their door on Friday morning to see if they had returned from the Kruger early and then we heard Ernst and Dina had been found dead.

'They were a lovely couple who loved going on safari and the residents are all in shock,' she said.

This week, South Africa's Environment Minister Willie Aucamp has urged tourists not to stay away from Kruger National Park despite the threat of poachers.

Classifying their murders as an 'isolated incident', he said in remarks reported by South Africa's News24: 'Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the deceased. This is terrible.

'It is important to state that this is the first time in 100 years that something like this has happened. Now, one time is one time too many, and we’ve got to make sure that the safety of our visitors is one of our top priorities. 

'We’ve got various technological systems that assist us with anti-poaching, and we’re using them. From Kruger National Park’s side, we are doing everything in our power to protect visitors’ safety, and we will continue to do so.'

Kruger spokesman Rey Thakhuli confirmed: 'A search operation was launched on Thursday, 21 May 2026, evening, after Parfuri camp staff noticed that two tourists had not returned to camp.

'The search continued on Friday, 22 May 2026, leading to the gruesome discovery of two bodies near a river area which had been reported by other tourists and our park rangers were alerted.

'It is the first time in the history of the Kruger National Park that an incident of this nature has been reported. Everything is being done to track those responsible and bring them to justice.'

A South African Police spokesman said: 'We are investigating two counts of murder and one of hijacking and at present we have made no arrests but are following up very strong leads'.