South African death toll has risen to 72 in rioting sparked by imprisonment of ex-President Jacob Zuma

JOHANNESBURG (AP) – South Africa’s police say 72 people have been killed and 1,234 have been arrested in unrest set off by the imprisonment last week of former President Jacob Zuma. In a statement issued Tuesday night, police Maj. Gen. Mathapelo Peters says many of the deaths were caused by stampedes when shops were being looted. He said 27 deaths are being investigated in KwaZulu-Natal province and 45 in Gauteng province. In addition to the people crushed, he says that police are investigating deaths that appear to be caused by explosions when people tried to break into ATM machines, as well as other fatalities caused by shootings.