South Africa: man dead after orange pelting

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Two men in rural South Africa are suspected of killing a farmworker with oranges, police said Thursday.

Citing witness accounts, police Lt. Col. Moatshe Ngoepe said the suspects allegedly argued with the man, then collected oranges and began hurling them at him.

"They started pelting the deceased with all those loose oranges, killing him on the spot," Ngoepe said. However, he cautioned that an investigation was still underway and aspects of a case he described as "complicated" still had to be verified.

The man was declared dead at the scene and he had no "visible injury," suggesting he may have suffered blunt trauma, according to Ngoepe. He did not comment on the cause of the argument that led to the assault.

Police and prosecutors are awaiting the results of an autopsy.

The suspects were detained Tuesday and later released pending formal charges, which could include murder.