Durban - Police are investigating a case of attempted murder after three men allegedly tried to saw off the legs of a triathlete who had been jogging in uMbilo on Tuesday. Mhlengi Gwala, 26, had been cycling along Francois Road, near the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) when he was accosted by the men.

It is alleged that the men dragged Gwala into a secluded pathway near UKZN, where they held him down and tried to saw off his leg.

According to a source, Gwala offered the men his cellphone and other belongings that he had with him but the men declined. They managed to saw through half of his one leg and found that their weapon was blunt. They also tried to saw off his second leg. Eventually the men fled.