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Police are waiting for DNA testing to determine if the body that washed up at Clifton Beach last month belongs to missing French Under-18 star Medhi Narjissi.

Strong rip currents swept away Narjissi while he and his teammates were swimming at Diaz Beach in Cape Point last month, but despite an extensive search by the police diving teams, there was no sign of the missing player.

The body has been turned over to the Forensic Pathology Service, according to Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie, spokesman for the Western Cape police.

“We cannot confirm the identity of the remains as DNA testing needs to be conducted and compared,” Pojie said.

Sources close to the investigation told News24 that there was “a very strong possibility” it could be the young rugby player.

“It’s still very early stages as the results need to come from the forensic teams before anyone can say for certain that it is the player. He was, however, the only body that swept out in Cape Point last month that the police were looking for,” the source said.

When the media pressed police on updates regarding the search for Narjissi, the response was only that ‘a decomposed body had washed up at Camps Bay’.

According to earlier reports, the dead body washed ashore in Clifton between Third and Fourth Beach, and divers from the South African Police Service were called in to retrieve it from the rocks.

Meanwhile, the French Ministry of Sport’s administrative supervisors are in the crosshairs due to Narjissi’s disappearance, according to the French Rugby Federation (FFR).

Often referred to as technical sporting advisers, supervisors from the French Ministry of Sport frequently work with national sports teams, however, the FFR requested that the ministry terminate their employment.

“The proceedings and supervision of the sessions seem to have been poorly managed,” the FFR said in a statement after finishing its investigation, “notably down to the lack of clear instructions from supervisors given to members of the coaching staff and players.”

“Once on site, the warning signs about the danger of the site were not considered, which seems to be particularly questionable considering the dramatic consequences.”

During a press conference, the former Agen and Castres hooker blamed members of the France Under-18 coaching staff.

“It’s the France fitness coach who made the decision to take them down there. It’s incomprehensible.”

[source:news24]