Gqeberha harbour tragedy: Woman drowns while trapped in bakkie

Eastern Cape police said a 32-year-old woman drowned while she was working at the Gqeberha harbour’s vehicle terminal in the early hours of Thursday, 25 April.

“It is alleged the woman was driving a new Ford Ranger onto the vessel carrier [ship]. Witnesses alleged that the vehicle accelerated and landed in the harbour,” said Eastern Cape police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg.

Gqeberha harbour drowning: Woman trapped in bakkie

“The woman could not exit the submerged vehicle and she drowned.”

She said the victim’s body was retrieved and her name is being withheld until her next of kin have been informed.

The bakkie has been retrieved from the ocean by police divers and harbour authorities.

An inquest docket was opened at the Humewood police station for further investigation.

Three bodies found in one week at Gqeberha beaches

A body found floating in the Gqeberha harbour on Friday, 18 April, has taken the number of bodies found at Nelson Mandela Bay beaches to three in the space of a week.

According to police spokesperson Captain André Beetge, the third victim was found floating at the harbour at around 10.30am.

HeraldLIVE reported that the body was found with “something wrapped around the man’s neck”.

“An autopsy will be conducted, and an inquest is under investigation,” Beetge added.

Another body in a diving wetsuit was found on the rocks at Sardinia Bay Beach on Thursday, 17 April. Police suspect the unidentified male drowned.

Earlier that week, the body of a man in a wetsuit was discovered on an isolated beach at Cape Recife, in Gqeberha.

The body was found on the beach at approximately 5.20pm on the seaward side of the SA National Defence Force’s (SANDF) shooting range.

At the time, Janse van Rensburg could not confirm whether there were any visible injuries or whether the man drowned.