Pat Pather (64) died after being wounded in a shoot-out with two armed gunmen who stormed his shop, Pyrammid Jewellers, in the centre of Durban on Wednesday morning.

Marlan Padaychee, a family friend said that Pather, whose family have been in the jewellery business for more than 80 years, was confronted by two gunmen who held up his workers and demanded jewellery and money.

"Mr Pather pulled out his gun and defended himself. A shoot out took place and one intruder was shot dead at the scene. Pather suffered wounds and was rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival," said Padaychee.

"He has been robbed a number of times recently and had acquired a gun to defend himself. He was getting fed up with the crime wave," he added.

Pather's death follows the hijack and murder of a 36-year-old Indian-origin father of two, Reggie Pillay, in the nearby town of Verulam.

His wife, Shaan, said her husband was hijacked while on his way to work. His car was found abandoned near a shopping mall and his body was found in a suburb.

"This was senseless. They didn't have to kill Reggie. He was harmless. Crime is spiraling out of control and the government needs to do something before more innocent lives are lost. Criminals seem to have a free rein and are taking the law into their own hands", said Shaan.