CAPE TOWN, South Africa | Xinhua | South African police have launched an urgent manhunt after 17 people were shot and killed in the Eastern Cape Province of the country, said authorities Saturday. The Eastern Cape provincial government confirmed in a statement that the “catastrophic incident” occurred in the town of Lusikisiki in the early …

17 people, including 15 women, were killed in two mass shootings in Lusikisiki, South Africa. Police have launched a manhunt for the suspects.

Fifteen women and two men were killed in a targeted attack on a village in Lusikisiki, police say.

Seventeen people, including 15 women, were killed in two mass shootings that took place in close proximity to each other in a rural town in South Africa, police said Saturday.

South African police have launched a manhunt after 17 people were shot dead in a town in the east of the country.

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A manhunt is underway after at least 17 people died in shootings in a small village in South Africa on Saturday.

A devastating mass shooting in an Eastern Cape village left 17 people dead and three critically injured. The victims, believed to be relatives and neighbours, were gunned down in a homestead in Nyathi village, Ngobozana, Lusikisiki, on Friday night. They were preparing for a traditional ritual, umembulo or ukukhululwa kwezila, scheduled for Saturday at MaNtlaneni village, also in Lusikisiki, to mark the end of mourning of a mother and daughter murdered a year ago.

The victims were 15 women and two men; one other person is in critical condition

An 18th victim is in critical condition in a hospital.

Mchunu said police would leave no stone unturned to "apprehend these brutal criminals".

Mchunu said police would leave no stone unturned to "apprehend these brutal criminals".

Residents of Nyathi Village in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape heard multiple gunshots at about 2am on Saturday but couldn't figure out which homes they were emanating from. The gunshots they heard were 17 people being gunned down in a nearby homestead. The victims were believed to be relatives and neighbours.