At least 20 robbers opened fire at a filling station in Graskop, Mpumalanga as they stole a cash-in-transit van, police said on Tuesday.

Captain Leonard Hlathi said two DNN Security guards had stopped at a garage near the Rus 'n Bietjie complex at about 1.30pm on Monday as part of their afternoon collection run in the Lowveld.

One of the guards was inside the business collecting the money while the other remained inside the security vehicle, when about 20 heavily-armed men appeared, firing at the security vehicle and at the people at the service station.

The guard was hit in the right thigh, then dragged out of his vehicle and dumped, while his colleague hid inside the filling station shop with the money.

The gang sped off in the security van, then stopped at some nearby bush, where they blasted out the rear window.

They took the cash from the van and disappeared in four vehicles — a stolen silver Nissan Hardbody with registration plates from neighbouring Mozambique — MMM8163, a stolen green S40 Volvo registration number CVP619MP, as well as an unmarked white Toyota Quantum and a silver grey BMW.

The bakkie and the Volvo were later found abandoned near Hazyview but police were still trying to track down the gang.

Anyone with information could pass this on to Inspector Sonnyboy Moloko on 082-303-9879.

Sapa

It's JZ, leave a message... "Hi, this is Zuma. You know what to do. No, no... not the machine gun. Leave a message..."

Finding love in Zululand Susan Pletts ventures into Zululand and discovers that SA's hidden treasures are its people.

Visit our politics page Need the latest political news, features, interviews and profiles? Visit our dedicated page...