Cape Town, Aug 9: Former South African international umpire Rudi Koertzen was killed in a car crash on Tuesday morning near a town called Riversdale, a local website reported.

He was 73.

Koertzen is survived by his wife and four children.

One of the most respected umpires in world cricket from the late 1990s till 2010, Koertzen had officiated in nearly 400 international games.

"The world-famous cricket umpire, Rudi Koertzen, and three other people were killed in a head-on collision near Riversdale on Tuesday morning. The 73-year-old Koertzen from Despatch in Nelson Mandela Bay was on his way back home from Cape Town after a golf weekend," Algoa FM News reported.

The former umpire's son, Rudi Koertzen Jr, confirmed the tragic news.

"He went on a golf tournament with some of his friends, and they were expected to come back on Monday, but it seems they decided to play another round of golf," Koertzen Jr told the website.

Koertzen was inducted into the ICC's Elite Panel in 2002 and was a part of it for eight years.

During his tenure, he officiated as on-field and TV umpire in as many as 397 games, including 128 Test matches, a record 250 ODIs, and 19 T20 Internationals.

He had his share of controversies too, including continuing with the 2007 ODI World Cup final between Sri Lanka and Australia in near darkness due to a wrong interpretation of rule, which forced the ICC to not give him any assignment during the inaugural World T20, which was held in his own country, in 2007.

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Mangaluru: Bearys Institute of Technology (BIT), in association with Bearys Enviro – Architecture Design School (BEADS), is set to conduct Talent Hunt 2025, an in-house entrance examination aimed at identifying and nurturing exceptional talents among aspiring engineering and architecture students.

The event is scheduled to be held on Saturday, 12th April 2025, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Bearys Knowledge Campus (BKC), near Mangalore University in Innoli, Mangaluru.

According to a release from the institute, II PUC Science students can earn scholarships of up to 100% on tuition fees, rewarding merit and potential in the fields of Engineering and Architecture.

Notably, all participants will be granted a minimum 10% scholarship, ensuring that every student benefits from the program.

In order to register, students are required to send an SMS containing their Name, College, and Location to 7259661177.

The last date for registration is 10th April 2025 by 5:00 p.m. For further details, interested candidates can contact the helpline at +91 99000 66888.