Police in South Africa are searching for suspects after 17 people, including 15 women, were killed in two mass shootings that took place near each other in a remote town in the Eastern Cape province.

The search for the suspects continues, national police spokeswoman Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said in a statement on Saturday.

The victims were 15 women and two men, she added. The eighteenth victim is in critical condition in hospital.

The shooting occurred early Saturday morning in the town of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape province in south-eastern South Africa.

The video released by the police shows that the shootings took place in two houses in the same area – a cluster of farmsteads on the outskirts of the city.

Police said twelve women and a man died in one house and three women and a man in the other.

“A manhunt has been launched to apprehend those behind these heinous killings,” Mathe said.

“The South African Police have launched an extensive search to bring to justice those responsible for these brutal killings. We are committed to keeping our communities safe.”

Children among the victims

Local media Dispatch Live reported that the victims were relatives and neighbors who had gathered to prepare for a traditional ritual ending mourning for a mother and daughter murdered a year ago.

Ingquza Hil mayor Nonkosi Pepping was quoted 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.”

South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, and mass shootings have become increasingly common in recent years, sometimes targeting people in their homes.

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Ten members of the same family, including seven women and one 13-year-old boy, were killed last April in a mass shooting at their home in neighboring KwaZulu-Natal province.

(with news services)