Johannesburg – The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande has been saddened by the deaths of University of Stellenbosch student, Ethan Kirkland and Leila Lees, in a car crash in a disused quarry.
Kirkland relocated to Stellenbosch from Pretoria and he was a first-year BSc student at Stellenbosch University.
The couple were reported missing on Saturday after Lees failed to arrive for work.
They were last seen on Friday, leaving The Niche apartment complex in Kirkland’s maroon Subaru Forester at about 5pm.
On Monday, a resident saw the backside of a vehicle in a dam on Paul Kruger Street, and alerted authorities.
Hours later, the car was dragged out of the dam by law enforcement officials.
Police confirmed bodies were found inside.
Nzimande has called on law enforcement agencies to probe the circumstances on the cause of death of the two young people.
He added that students needed to be more circumspect in and around universities.
Recently, a student from the University of Pretoria was shot and killed outside campus while walking to his house in a residential area.
Current Affairs