Eleven people, including a pregnant woman, have been killed after gunmen stormed a house in the township of KwaMakhutha, south of the South African city of Durban.

Three other people managed to survive the attack, which took place shortly before 11:00 pm local time—around 9:00 pm UK time on Tuesday—according to police and provincial officials.

According to reports from local television station eNCA, the armed assailants forced everyone inside the property into a single room before opening fire. The attackers also set fire to a car belonging to one of the victims before fleeing the scene.

Thamsanqa Ntuli, the premier of KwaZulu-Natal province, confirmed the incident, stating that the victims had gathered at the residence shortly before the attackers arrived and opened fire.

Ntuli noted that the attack has left the surrounding community in profound shock and grief. A local resident cited by eNCA described the scene in similar terms, saying: "It's shocking and sad. These are guys I grew up with. I can't believe it. It's like a movie." The resident added: "I've been staying here all my life, and I've never seen anything like this."

In response to the killings, Acting Police Chief Puleng Dimpane confirmed she has activated a 72-hour tracking operation to hunt down and arrest those responsible.

"There is no place in our communities for the senseless taking of human lives," Dimpane said in an official statement. "Police must act decisively, mobilise all available resources and pursue those responsible until they are brought before the courts."

What we do not know yet is why this happened. Police have stated that the motive behind the shooting is not immediately clear, though investigators have confirmed they are currently following a lead described as promising.

To give you the wider context, South Africa is awash with legal and illegal firearms, and shootings remain a frequent occurrence. These incidents are often fuelled by rivalries between gangs as well as competition between informal businesses.

The broader numbers illustrate the scale of the violence: South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with roughly 60 people killed each day in a population of around 62 million. Back in March, soldiers were deployed to violence hotspots across the country to assist police in curbing rampant crime, which President Cyril Ramaphosa has identified as one of the nation's biggest threats.

Police will be working against the clock over the next three days as their tracking operation gets underway. I'll be following this one — check back for updates.