Police say seventeen people have been killed in a mass shooting in a remote South African town. A manhunt is underway to find the perpetrators.

Police said the target was two farmsteads in the Eastern Cape town of Lusikisiki. In one place, 12 women and one man died, and in another place, three women and one man died.

According to South African police, the 18th victim is in hospital in a critical condition.

Ministers and the police commissioner are due to hold a nationwide briefing at 1pm local time on Saturday (12pm BST).

South African media reported that the victims were relatives and neighbors from Nyathi village in Ngobozana, Lusikisiki.

They said the group had gathered in homes to prepare to participate in a traditional mourning ceremony for the attack on Friday evening.

The Dispatch Live news site quoted Mayor Ingquza Hil Nonkosi Pepping as saying: “The attackers came and shot at everyone, killing everyone. Women and children were also killed in the bloody shooting.

“This has left the community terrified.”