Ostrich kicks 63-year-old woman to death in South Africa

Associated Press, 12/29/97 07:13

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - An ostrich kicked a 63-year-old woman to death on a farm outside Cape Town and seriously injured her husband, police said.

Abraham Hendriks, 65, incapacitated from his injuries, watched helplessly while his wife, Ouma, was kicked and stomped on for an hour on an ostrich farm in Joostenbergvlakte, about 25 miles from Cape Town.

``Ouma was seriously injured and I was almost helpless,'' Hendriks was quoted as saying in today's edition of the Johnannesburg paper The Star. ``I used my last bit of strength to drag her under the shade of a nearby bush.''

Hendriks managed to flag down help after the ostrich left. The couple was taken to a hospital, where Mrs. Hendriks died.

The attack occurred when the couple, who lived on an adjacent farm, walked through an ostrich herd on the Lekkerwater farm on their way to visit friends last Monday, police spokesman Wicus Holtzhausen said.