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A group of 11 hikers on the Otter Trail in the Tsitsikamma National Park reported that their fellow hiker, a 32-year-old man from Johannesburg was missing.

They were on the second-last day of the five-day, 42-kilometre trail in the Garden Route National Park and said the man had gone ahead of the pack and disappeared on Tuesday.

The spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), Craig Lambinon, said when the group reached the mouth of the Bloukrans River, which borders the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, they found it was teeming from the heavy rain, per News24.

The group said they were not comfortable crossing the turbulent river and could not locate the man.

“During their initial search, they noticed the missing man’s backpack afloat on the river, adrift, and [the bag was] caught in among the rocky shoreline, in the direction of the river mouth.

“They suspected that he may have tried to cross the river, and they raised the alarm, reporting that he was suspected to have been swept down the river.”

That afternoon, NSRI teams and SA National Parks rangers were called on, but the search was hindered by the terrible weather conditions.

“Despite an extensive search, hampered by unfavourable weather, by the swollen river and by the barely accessible terrain, there remained no signs of the missing man by nightfall,” he said.

The search was called off and the 10 hikers were accommodated at a cabin. By first light on Wednesday, SAPS, Police Search and Rescue, and SANParks Tsitsikamma rangers, assisted by NSRI Storms River, NSRI Oyster Bay, and NSRI Plettenberg Bay, continued in a sea and shoreline search.

Duran de Villiers, a local private helicopter and drone pilot, volunteered his EC120 helicopter to assist in the search at the request of NSRI Plettenberg Bay after which an aerial search along the shoreline and out to sea was conducted, but ther was no sign of the missing man.

 

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Then Duran landed and launched a drone, which managed to spot the body of the man located offshore of the Bloukrans River Mouth.

Duran and an NSRI rescue swimmer joined SANParks rangers at the river mouth where Duran waded into the water and was able to secure the body of the man to the shoreline. Sadly the man was declared deceased.

It is a sad tragedy, and the services teams along with Duran’s aerial support are hugely commended in assisting to bring the grieving family closure.

Police spokesperson Captain Marius McCarthy identified the man as 35-year-old Mamolepe Matibidi. SANParks’ head of communications, JP Louw, said the family of the deceased had been notified and was getting the necessary support. Detectives are also investigating the matter.

The Western Cape was hit by heavy rain, which caused flooding in parts of the province, including parts of the Garden Route. A Level 8 warning for disruptive rain was even issued by the South African Weather Service for today, as the weather continues unabated.

The Otter Trail remains open but hikers are cautioned not to cross turbulent or swollen rivers and to stay in safe zones.

[source:news24]