The family of a young man who was admitted wants answers about what happened to their son after he was found dead in a bush, next to the hospital.

Bulelani Khehla Simamane (22) from Ndwendwe ,outside Durban in KwaZulu Natal, was found hanging in hospital attire on Monday after he was admitted at the Montebello Hospital on May 31 as a mental case.

The family claimed that on June 1, they received a call from the hospital informing them that Simamane was not in his hospital bed and couldn't be found in the hospital premises.

His family is still not convinced how he escaped from the hospital and later hanged himself. They said that the hospital had enquired with them if they hadn't seen their son, which was strange. "We told them that Bulelani was not here at home and that we were not expecting him to be home as they had not informed us to come and get him. The nurse made it seem as if they had discharged him which was very odd," said Jane Gumede, who is Simamane's aunt.

Gumede said that they are still in shock as Simamane was found hanging in hospital pyjamas and had a drip on him.

"We are still asking ourselves how a sick patient managed to escape from the hospital with so many securities and nurses around the yard. We are truly disturbed. They must provide us with answers on how Bulelani managed to escape from their hospital premises. Someone must be able to provide us with answers," she said.

KZN Department of Health Spokesperson Mduduzi Ncalane and police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda had not commented at the time of publishing.

*This is a developing story