 they revealed their positions to the fighters in their haste , but successfully hid themselves behind a ridge . After Hill and the others had hidden there for about two hours , they saw the attackers return to the crash site at about 19 : 45 . The guerrillas looted the wrecked cabin and some of the suitcases strewn around the site , filled their arms with various passengers ' belongings , then left again .   The survivors were found over the following days by the Rhodesian Army and police ; Hill and Mr and Mrs Hansen were taken to Kariba Hospital , while MacLaren and his group were airlifted to Andrew Fleming Hospital in Salisbury .   = = = Nkomo claims responsibility , but denies killing survivors = = =   Nkomo claimed responsibility for the attack in an interview with the BBC 's Today radio programme the next day , laughing as he did so , to the horror of most Rhodesian observers , both black and white . He said that he had received intelligence that the Hunyani was being used for military purposes . Nkomo said he regretted the deaths as it was not his party 's policy to kill civilians , and denied that his men had killed any survivors on the ground ; by contrast , he said that his men had helped them , and had left them alive . He also accused Air Rhodesia of surreptitiously hauling troops and war materiel for the government , an allegation that Captain Pat Travers , Air Rhodesia 's general manager , called a " downright , deliberate lie " .   According to Eliakim Sibanda , a professor and human rights speaker who wrote a history of ZAPU , Nkomo was implying that responsibility for the massacre actually lay with security force pseudo @-@ guerrillas , more specifically the mixed race Selous Scouts unit , which had often been accused of brutalising rural civilians with the goal of shifting public opinion . Sibanda asserts that the massacre " cannot be put beyond " the Scouts , and also supports Nkomo 's claim that the Hunyani had been used militarily , suggesting that ZIPRA might have believed there to be Rhodesian soldiers on board . " Rhodesian television , before attacks on ZANLA in Mozambique , had shown Viscounts ferrying paratroopers for the job , " he writes , " ... [ and ] ZIPRA intelligence knew there were paratroopers stationed [ at Victoria Falls ] " .   = = Reactions = =   = = = White Rhodesians turn against blacks = = =   A report published in the American magazine Time a fortnight later described the incident as " a genuine horror story , calculated to make the most alarming of Rhodesian doomsday prophecies seem true . " Indeed , the white community in Rhodesia heard the news with fury , and many turned their minds to exacting retribution for what they and many others saw as an act of terrorism . The prominent Indian @-@ Rhodesian Gulab family was particularly affected by the incident , having lost eight members in the attack . Though Rhodesian authorities did not immediately acknowledge the cause of the crash , doing so only after four days ' investigation , the truth was common knowledge in Salisbury within hours . Smith wrote in his memoirs that the " degree of anger ... [ was ] difficult to control " . White South Africans were similarly enraged , particularly after reports appeared in the South African press that the killers had raped the female passengers before massacring them . A Friends of Rhodesia Society in South Africa offered a reward of R100,000 to anybody who would either kill Nkomo or bring him to Salisbury to stand trial .   Geoffrey Nyarota , who was then one of the few black reporters at the Rhodesia Herald newspaper , later wrote in his memoirs that many whites became resentful and wary towards blacks in general , believing them all to be " terrorist sympathisers " . Describing the Herald newsroom the night of the incident , he relates a " vile collective temper " among the white sub @-@ editors : " They cursed until their voices became hoarse , threatening dire consequences for all terrs and munts or kaffirs ... I sensed that some of the more derogatory remarks made in unnecessarily loud voices that evening were meant specifically for my ears . "   Several racially motivated incidents occurred over the following days . According to the Time article , a group of whites entered an unsegregated Salisbury bar " fingering the triggers of rifles " and forced blacks drinking there to leave . Time also reported a rumour that two white youths , on learning of the massacre , shot the first black man they saw . Smith says that several would @-@ be vigilante groups sought his permission to venture into the bush around the crash site to " make the local people pay for their crime of harbouring and assisting the terrorists " . He instructed them not to , according to his memoirs , telling them that many rural blacks only assisted the guerrillas under extreme duress , and that it would not do to attack them
Ġthey Ġrevealed Ġtheir Ġpositions Ġto Ġthe Ġfighters Ġin Ġtheir Ġhaste Ġ, Ġbut Ġsuccessfully Ġhid Ġthemselves Ġbehind Ġa Ġridge Ġ. ĠAfter ĠHill Ġand Ġthe Ġothers Ġhad Ġhidden Ġthere Ġfor Ġabout Ġtwo Ġhours Ġ, Ġthey Ġsaw Ġthe Ġattackers Ġreturn Ġto Ġthe Ġcrash Ġsite Ġat Ġabout Ġ19 Ġ: Ġ45 Ġ. ĠThe Ġgu err illas Ġlooted Ġthe Ġwrecked Ġcabin Ġand Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġsuit cases Ġstre wn Ġaround Ġthe Ġsite Ġ, Ġfilled Ġtheir Ġarms Ġwith Ġvarious Ġpassengers Ġ' Ġbelongings Ġ, Ġthen Ġleft Ġagain Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġsurvivors Ġwere Ġfound Ġover Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġdays Ġby Ġthe ĠRhodes ian ĠArmy Ġand Ġpolice Ġ; ĠHill Ġand ĠMr Ġand ĠMrs ĠHansen Ġwere Ġtaken Ġto ĠKar iba ĠHospital Ġ, Ġwhile ĠMac L aren Ġand Ġhis Ġgroup Ġwere Ġair l ifted Ġto ĠAndrew ĠFleming ĠHospital Ġin ĠSal isbury Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠN k omo Ġclaims Ġresponsibility Ġ, Ġbut Ġdenies Ġkilling Ġsurvivors Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠN k omo Ġclaimed Ġresponsibility Ġfor Ġthe Ġattack Ġin Ġan Ġinterview Ġwith Ġthe ĠBBC Ġ' s ĠToday Ġradio Ġprogramme Ġthe Ġnext Ġday Ġ, Ġlaughing Ġas Ġhe Ġdid Ġso Ġ, Ġto Ġthe Ġhorror Ġof Ġmost ĠRhodes ian Ġobservers Ġ, Ġboth Ġblack Ġand Ġwhite Ġ. ĠHe Ġsaid Ġthat Ġhe Ġhad Ġreceived Ġintelligence Ġthat Ġthe ĠHun y ani Ġwas Ġbeing Ġused Ġfor Ġmilitary Ġpurposes Ġ. ĠN k omo Ġsaid Ġhe Ġregretted Ġthe Ġdeaths Ġas Ġit Ġwas Ġnot Ġhis Ġparty Ġ' s Ġpolicy Ġto Ġkill Ġcivilians Ġ, Ġand Ġdenied Ġthat Ġhis Ġmen Ġhad Ġkilled Ġany Ġsurvivors Ġon Ġthe Ġground Ġ; Ġby Ġcontrast Ġ, Ġhe Ġsaid Ġthat Ġhis Ġmen Ġhad Ġhelped Ġthem Ġ, Ġand Ġhad Ġleft Ġthem Ġalive Ġ. ĠHe Ġalso Ġaccused ĠAir ĠRhodes ia Ġof Ġsur re pt it iously Ġha uling Ġtroops Ġand Ġwar Ġmater iel Ġfor Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġ, Ġan Ġallegation Ġthat ĠCaptain ĠPat ĠTra vers Ġ, ĠAir ĠRhodes ia Ġ' s Ġgeneral Ġmanager Ġ, Ġcalled Ġa Ġ" Ġdownright Ġ, Ġdeliberate Ġlie Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAccording Ġto ĠEli ak im ĠS ib anda Ġ, Ġa Ġprofessor Ġand Ġhuman Ġrights Ġspeaker Ġwho Ġwrote Ġa Ġhistory Ġof ĠZ AP U Ġ, ĠN k omo Ġwas Ġimplying Ġthat Ġresponsibility Ġfor Ġthe Ġmassacre Ġactually Ġlay Ġwith Ġsecurity Ġforce Ġpseudo Ġ@ - @ Ġgu err illas Ġ, Ġmore Ġspecifically Ġthe Ġmixed Ġrace ĠSel ous ĠScouts Ġunit Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhad Ġoften Ġbeen Ġaccused Ġof Ġbrutal ising Ġrural Ġcivilians Ġwith Ġthe Ġgoal Ġof Ġshifting Ġpublic Ġopinion Ġ. ĠS ib anda Ġasserts Ġthat Ġthe Ġmassacre Ġ" Ġcannot Ġbe Ġput Ġbeyond Ġ" Ġthe ĠScouts Ġ, Ġand Ġalso Ġsupports ĠN k omo Ġ' s Ġclaim Ġthat Ġthe ĠHun y ani Ġhad Ġbeen Ġused Ġmilit arily Ġ, Ġsuggesting Ġthat ĠZIP RA Ġmight Ġhave Ġbelieved Ġthere Ġto Ġbe ĠRhodes ian Ġsoldiers Ġon Ġboard Ġ. Ġ" ĠRhodes ian Ġtelevision Ġ, Ġbefore Ġattacks Ġon ĠZ AN LA Ġin ĠMoz amb ique Ġ, Ġhad Ġshown ĠV isc ount s Ġferry ing Ġpar atro opers Ġfor Ġthe Ġjob Ġ, Ġ" Ġhe Ġwrites Ġ, Ġ" Ġ... Ġ[ Ġand Ġ] ĠZIP RA Ġintelligence Ġknew Ġthere Ġwere Ġpar atro opers Ġstationed Ġ[ Ġat ĠVictoria ĠFalls Ġ] Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠRe actions Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠWhite ĠRhodes ians Ġturn Ġagainst Ġblacks Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġreport Ġpublished Ġin Ġthe ĠAmerican Ġmagazine ĠTime Ġa Ġfortnight Ġlater Ġdescribed Ġthe Ġincident Ġas Ġ" Ġa Ġgenuine Ġhorror Ġstory Ġ, Ġcalculated Ġto Ġmake Ġthe Ġmost Ġalarming Ġof ĠRhodes ian Ġdo omsday Ġprophe cies Ġseem Ġtrue Ġ. Ġ" ĠIndeed Ġ, Ġthe Ġwhite Ġcommunity Ġin ĠRhodes ia Ġheard Ġthe Ġnews Ġwith Ġfury Ġ, Ġand Ġmany Ġturned Ġtheir Ġminds Ġto Ġexact ing Ġretribution Ġfor Ġwhat Ġthey Ġand Ġmany Ġothers Ġsaw Ġas Ġan Ġact Ġof Ġterrorism Ġ. ĠThe Ġprominent ĠIndian Ġ@ - @ ĠRhodes ian ĠGul ab Ġfamily Ġwas Ġparticularly Ġaffected Ġby Ġthe Ġincident Ġ, Ġhaving Ġlost Ġeight Ġmembers Ġin Ġthe Ġattack Ġ. ĠThough ĠRhodes ian Ġauthorities Ġdid Ġnot Ġimmediately Ġacknowledge Ġthe Ġcause Ġof Ġthe Ġcrash Ġ, Ġdoing Ġso Ġonly Ġafter Ġfour Ġdays Ġ' Ġinvestigation Ġ, Ġthe Ġtruth Ġwas Ġcommon Ġknowledge Ġin ĠSal isbury Ġwithin Ġhours Ġ. ĠSmith Ġwrote Ġin Ġhis Ġmemoir s Ġthat Ġthe Ġ" Ġdegree Ġof Ġanger Ġ... Ġ[ Ġwas Ġ] Ġdifficult Ġto Ġcontrol Ġ" Ġ. ĠWhite ĠSouth ĠAfricans Ġwere Ġsimilarly Ġenraged Ġ, Ġparticularly Ġafter Ġreports Ġappeared Ġin Ġthe ĠSouth ĠAfrican Ġpress Ġthat Ġthe Ġkillers Ġhad Ġraped Ġthe Ġfemale Ġpassengers Ġbefore Ġmassac ring Ġthem Ġ. ĠA ĠFriends Ġof ĠRhodes ia ĠSociety Ġin ĠSouth ĠAfrica Ġoffered Ġa Ġreward Ġof ĠR 100 , 000 Ġto Ġanybody Ġwho Ġwould Ġeither Ġkill ĠN k omo Ġor Ġbring Ġhim Ġto ĠSal isbury Ġto Ġstand Ġtrial Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGeoffrey ĠNy ar ota Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġthen Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġfew Ġblack Ġreporters Ġat Ġthe ĠRhodes ia ĠHerald Ġnewspaper Ġ, Ġlater Ġwrote Ġin Ġhis Ġmemoir s Ġthat Ġmany Ġwhites Ġbecame Ġresent ful Ġand Ġwary Ġtowards Ġblacks Ġin Ġgeneral Ġ, Ġbelieving Ġthem Ġall Ġto Ġbe Ġ" Ġterrorist Ġsympath isers Ġ" Ġ. ĠDesc ribing Ġthe ĠHerald Ġnews room Ġthe Ġnight Ġof Ġthe Ġincident Ġ, Ġhe Ġrelates Ġa Ġ" Ġvile Ġcollective Ġtemper Ġ" Ġamong Ġthe Ġwhite Ġsub Ġ@ - @ Ġeditors Ġ: Ġ" ĠThey Ġcursed Ġuntil Ġtheir Ġvoices Ġbecame Ġho arse Ġ, Ġthreatening Ġdire Ġconsequences Ġfor Ġall Ġter rs Ġand Ġmun ts Ġor Ġk aff irs Ġ... ĠI Ġsensed Ġthat Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġmore Ġderogatory Ġremarks Ġmade Ġin Ġunnecessarily Ġloud Ġvoices Ġthat Ġevening Ġwere Ġmeant Ġspecifically Ġfor Ġmy Ġears Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠSeveral Ġracially Ġmotivated Ġincidents Ġoccurred Ġover Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġdays Ġ. ĠAccording Ġto Ġthe ĠTime Ġarticle Ġ, Ġa Ġgroup Ġof Ġwhites Ġentered Ġan Ġunse greg ated ĠSal isbury Ġbar Ġ" Ġfing ering Ġthe Ġtriggers Ġof Ġrifles Ġ" Ġand Ġforced Ġblacks Ġdrinking Ġthere Ġto Ġleave Ġ. ĠTime Ġalso Ġreported Ġa Ġrum our Ġthat Ġtwo Ġwhite Ġyouths Ġ, Ġon Ġlearning Ġof Ġthe Ġmassacre Ġ, Ġshot Ġthe Ġfirst Ġblack Ġman Ġthey Ġsaw Ġ. ĠSmith Ġsays Ġthat Ġseveral Ġwould Ġ@ - @ Ġbe Ġvigilante Ġgroups Ġsought Ġhis Ġpermission Ġto Ġventure Ġinto Ġthe Ġbush Ġaround Ġthe Ġcrash Ġsite Ġto Ġ" Ġmake Ġthe Ġlocal Ġpeople Ġpay Ġfor Ġtheir Ġcrime Ġof Ġharbour ing Ġand Ġassisting Ġthe Ġterrorists Ġ" Ġ. ĠHe Ġinstructed Ġthem Ġnot Ġto Ġ, Ġaccording Ġto Ġhis Ġmemoir s Ġ, Ġtelling Ġthem Ġthat Ġmany Ġrural Ġblacks Ġonly Ġassisted Ġthe Ġgu err illas Ġunder Ġextreme Ġdu ress Ġ, Ġand Ġthat Ġit Ġwould Ġnot Ġdo Ġto Ġattack Ġthem