Emanuel Tshabalala couldn’t hold back the tears as the court heard the details of how he shot and killed his son outside a Johannesburg school on Tuesday.

“This is my first accident and a painful one‚” he tearfully told the court.

The court, taking into account the fact that he handed himself over and had cooperated fully with the police, released him on a warning.

Magistrate Maggie van der Merwe said: “I can only describe this incident as a tragedy.

Two people were killed in a head-on collision between two vehicles on the R501 in Carletonville‚ west of Johannesburg‚ during the early hours of Sunday.

“At approximately 1.10am‚ ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene and found both drivers trapped in their vehicles. Upon further assessment‚ paramedics saw that there was nothing they could do to save the drivers and they were both declared dead on the scene‚” said ER24 spokesperson Annine Siddall.

Both men were believed to be in their thirties.

“The details surrounding this incident are not yet known but local authorities were on the scene for further investigations‚ Siddall added.

Search operations for a pilot and his light aircraft that disappeared over KwaZulu-Natal last week have been de-escalated‚ police said on Sunday.

This follows three days of aerial‚ maritime and land-based searches‚ spearheaded by the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre (ARCC).

Shoreline patrols would be conducted by Isimangaliso Wetland Park for the next week‚ police said.

Search and rescue personnel have been looking for the light aircraft since Thursday.

The plane evidently took off on Wednesday from Newcastle‚ bound for the coast‚ but never returned.