An armed gang hit a petrol station in Cape Town in the early hours of Monday morning, just two days after a similar incident nearby. Four unidentified suspects entered the petrol station on the N2 near Macassar around 02:30 and ordered employees to lie down, said police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk.

They used a crowbar and unknown explosives to open the tills before fleeing the scene in a silver VW Golf, with an undisclosed amount of money. No one was injured in the attack and no arrests had yet been made.

Just 43 hours earlier, around 07:00 on Saturday, an armed gang targeted a shop in Heldervue, Somerset West, 15km away. Seven suspects took an undisclosed amount of money from the shop tills. They also blew up an ATM inside the shop and took money from the machine before fleeing. They were driving in two VW GTI Golfs – one silver and one green.

According to the Somerset West Neighbourhood Watch Facebook page, the shop was the Heldervue Spar.

“Neighbourhood Watch is relieved to report that nobody was injured physically, but the victims are traumatised,” it said on its page.

No arrests had yet been made.

Asked if police were exploring a possible link between the robberies, Van Wyk said: “We are investigating all avenues”. News24