A bush fire that raged in Africa's famed Kruger National Park killed 15 villagers and four game rangers who died trying to save them, the park's spokesman said today.
The villagers, who had been contracted by the park to cut grass, died as they were trying to escape the blaze that engulfed the temporary camp set up to house them, spokesman Mr William Mabasa said in a statement.
Mr Mabasa said earlier that 16 villagers and three game rangers had died. The grass cutters came from surrounding villages.
No tourists have been reported hurt.
President Thabo Mbeki expressed his condolences to the families and friends of those who died.
"South Africa salutes the bravery of those who died in the blaze whilst attempting to rescue those trapped by the fire," he said in a statement. "They will forever be remembered as heroes who make us proud to be South African."
Mr Mabasa said the fire, which started yesterday afternoon and covered a large area of dry bushland around the workers' tented camp, had been largely contained by midday.
The cause of the blaze, fanned by strong winds near the camp that housed 38 workers, was not yet known.
Kruger, an area the size of Wales, is the jewel in the crown of South Africa's national parks and attracts close to one million visitors a year, 40 per cent of them from abroad.