A 17-year-old girl died in Livingstone hospital in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday after she was accidentally shot by her policeman friend, Eastern Cape police said.

Superintendent Priscilla Naidu said the officer was a captain in the Port Elizabeth VIP protection unit.

Allegedly, he accidentally shot his friend around 1am on Monday when they had returned from the beach.

The officer and two of his friends, including the girl, were inside his bakkie near the beach when he took his 9mm pistol out of the cubby hole.

He was allegedly attempting to make his firearm safe when a shot went off. The bullet passed through his left hand, through the driver's seat and into the stomach of the 17-year-old girl.

Both were taken to the Humansdorp hospital for treatment.

The officer was treated and discharged while the girl was taken to Livingstone hospital to undergo an operation to remove the bullet.

The girl, from Hankey near Port Elizabeth, died on Monday evening of her wound.

Initially, a case of negligent handling of a firearm and of using a firearm whilst under the influence of liquor were opened but a charge of murder was added after the girl died.

The officer had not been formally charged but was admitted to the Hunter's Craig psychological institution.

He would be charged after being released from hospital, said Naidu.

Sapa