police, accident scene, crime scene
Police said that 12 men were in the room when numerous gunmen broke in, shot at them and then fled. (Representational image.) Image Credit: Shutterstock

Cape Town: Gunmen burst into a room at a men's hostel near the eastern South African city of Durban, killing eight people and leaving two others injured, police said Sunday, in the latest mass shooting in the country.

Seven men were declared dead immediately after the shooting in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday in the Umlazi township. An eighth man died on Sunday, police said.

Two others are hospitalized with injuries, and they include a man who jumped out of the window of the hostel room to escape the gunfire. Police said that 12 men were in the room when numerous gunmen broke in, shot at them and then fled.

Two of the men in the room were unhurt.

READ MORE

South Africa is among the 10 countries with the highest homicide rates in the world and there has been a spate of mass shootings in recent years. At least two mass shootings were reported earlier this year.