Police retrieve body of missing man from Hartbeespoort Dam

After nearly 48 hours of searching police divers on Monday found the body of a man who jumped from a boat into the Hartbeespoort Dam at the weekend. 

It is alleged that on Saturday at about 2.45pm the man jumped into the water to cool off after a leisure cruise on the dam with six other passengers.

Two women got into the water after him but were rescued unharmed. The man disappeared under the water.

“Between 12.15pm and 12.30pm [on Monday] police divers found the body of the 40-year-old man in Hartbeespoort Dam and we are investigating an inquest to determine the cause of death,” said police spokesperson Col Adéle Myburgh.

Preliminary investigations found the man had jumped into the water earlier the same day to cool off due to the high temperatures in North West at the weekend.

“He did it previously the same day. The first time he jumped in he managed to get back onto the boat. This guy could obviously swim. It seems the second time he jumped off the boat to cool down, that is when he couldn’t come back up again. It could be anything that could have caused [him not to resurface] such as a heart attack or a cramp. An autopsy will determine the cause of death,” she told TimesLIVE.

According to the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), which assisted in the search, the man went missing close to the Caribbean Estate near the Randburg Bridge.

The boat was stationary at the time, NSRI Hartbeespoort Dam station commander Arthur Crewe said.

Earlier on Monday, the man’s brother told eNCA the family was hopeful they would find him “still fine and kicking”.

“We are hopeful we will find him. The sooner the better, so we know where to go from here.

“ He could be in a coma, or it could be something else. I am still hopeful.”

TimesLIVE

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