JOHANNESBURG, June 3: The flight voice recorder from a plane crash that killed former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje was recovered Monday from the wreckage, a spokesman said.

Two inspectors from the Civil Aviation Authority crawled “at great personal risk” into the precariously-balanced wreckage to retrieve the recorder, said Southern Cape disaster management spokesman Patrick Hall.

“They were either very brave or crazy. They could have been killed,” Hall told the South African press agency SAPA.

The search for the recorder — vital to the crash investigation — was aborted Sunday due to poor weather, amid fears the wreckage could blow off the mountain.

Hall confirmed that autopsies were currently being performed on the three victims in George.

“I reckon (Cronje) broke his neck,” he speculated.

He said Cronje had a trickle of blood on his head and some cuts on his legs.

Meanwhile, a memorial service was scheduled for Monday at the high school of Cronje.

The SAPA said the memorial would be held at Grey College in Cronje’s hometown of Bloemfontein.

Local media reports say the cricketer’s funeral will probably be held Wednesday also in Bloemfontein, but that has yet to be confirmed.—AFP/Reuters