from The Independent June 01 2002 (thanks Jenny)
South African cricket captain Shaun Pollock left the field of an
English county cricket match in shock on Saturday afternoon after hearing his
former captain Hansie Cronje had died in a plane crash in the southern Cape.
Speaking to reporters by phone Pollock's wife, Trish, said her husband was so
devastated that he could not finish the game.
"He is in the change room at the moment and I do not think he can talk to
the press now. He needs a few hours to recover," she said.
Doctors at the scene of the plane crash near George on Saturday morning have
confirmed that former cricket captain Hansie Cronje is among the three dead,
according to his brother Frans Cronje. He said that the plane, which left
Bloemfontein bound for George around 4am, was unable to land due to poor weather
conditions around 6.45am.
Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour's spokesperson Graham Abrahams said; "We
have heard the news, we are still trying to recover. It's a shock."
Trevor Davids of the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that because of poor
weather conditions, rescue teams were not able to land near the crash site.
Members of the Mountain Club of South Africa's mountain rescue service had to
abseil down a crag to get to the bodies, which had been spotted from a
helicopter. The mountaineers were dropped by helicopter as close to the crash
site as possible.