A husband and wife were shot dead in their home along Penal Rock Road before daybreak on Monday.

Reports are that gunmen stormed the property and opened fire.

The victims have been identified as Rafeak Vialva and his wife, Babita Vialva. According to police reports, the couple were inside the house with a relative when intruders entered and began shooting. They couple was involved in the lumber business.

Babita died at the scene. Rafeak was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries while being transported.

Responding officers later intercepted a vehicle believed to have been used by the attackers. Investigations are ongoing.

Residents described the Vialvas as a hardworking couple involved in the forestry and lumber trade. Rafeak operated a timber jack, a machine used to haul logs from forested areas, and the couple were engaged in the purchase and transport of raw wood to sawmills to be cut into planks.

Babita, originally from Biche, was a housewife who occasionally assisted her husband in the field. Neighbours described her as quiet.