Man dies after jumping off Mpumalanga cliff

A man from Mpumalanga has been found dead after jumping off a cliff into a pool of water with friends at the weekend. 

Nantes de Lange was at a 21st birthday party at Markon River Lodge, just outside Bronkhorstspruit, on 30 January.

A group of friends, including De Lange, decided to jump from cliffs surrounding the Wilge River into the water.

The cliffs are not on the lodge’s land.

When De Lange did not come out after jumping, his friends began searching for him.

“The police’s help was called in, but because it got dark and sight was very difficult, the search was cancelled. The site was also very difficult to navigate,” said Travis Clack of the National Sea Rescue Institute’s (NSRI’s) Witbank Station 35.

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While the decision was made to continue with the search only the next day, De Lange’s mother, Magda de Lange, walked up and down the river calling out her son’s name.

Early on Sunday, the search continued.

His body was found shortly thereafter.

“It is difficult to summarise Nantes’s life story in a few paragraphs. He loved life so much. Playing rugby and riding a motorcycle was his passion,” said his brother-in-law, Terence Opperman.

The cliffs from which Nantes de Lange jumped off.

Henlo Meyer, owner of Markon River Lodge, conveyed his deepest condolences to De Lange’s family and friends.

De Lange leaves behind his mother and father, Madga and Bingle and brother and sister, Tertius and Nanette.

This article was translated from Afrikaans and republished from Witbank News with permission.

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