Police spokesperson, Motantsi Makhele, says according to information the deceased aged 4, 11 and 16-years-old are suspected to have consumed rat poison in Bolata Village. 

He says traces of rat poison were found in the outside room which is used by the 16-year-old. 

This incident took place on Friday 20 August 2021 between 20:00 and 20:30.

The Emergency Medical Service's (EMS) Control Room made a callout to the police indicating that EMS personnel were attending to a callout at a certain house in Bolata Village, where three children are alleged to have eaten rat poison and died.

"On arrival, they were informed by the mother (39) that she went to the tuck shop and left the children in the care of the eldest child aged 16. She further alleged that on her arrival, she found Nolwazi Selepe aged 4 and Tebello Selepe aged 11 already dead. The eldest child, Katleho Selepe, was still alive but in pain and passed on when EMS personnel arrived," Makhele adds.

Makhele says an inquest docket has been registered and a post-mortem will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death. 

This is not the first incident where police have made a triple-death discovery of family members in the Free State in the past few months.

Earlier this month, police were deployed to a scene on a farm outside Harrismith where the bodies of five family members were found with stab wounds. 

Prior to this discovery, a family of four, which included two children and two parents, were discovered in Bloemfontein.

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