Bloemfontein – A 26-year-old woman was gang-raped and her cousin brutally assaulted in Meloding, Virginia, Free State police said on Monday.

The women were assaulted on Sunday night when 14 men broke into their shack in Mahala Park, said Sergeant Mamello Mokhuoane.

The woman was assaulted and taken to a place near the railway station where she was repeatedly raped by six of the men, he said.

The other eight men assaulted her 29-year-old cousin in the shack.

“She was stabbed with a garden spade and taken to a hole that was also near the railway. They attempted to rape her, but she screamed.”

Residents heard her and the men fled.

Both women were seriously injured and were taken to nearby hospital, said Mokhuoane.

Police were investigating cases of house breaking, robbery, rape and assault.

– SAPA