DUSI Canoe Marathon organisers have confirmed that 57-year-old paddler, Heine Jordaan, died while competing in Friday’s second stage of the three-day race.
Jordaan, a Durban dentist, started the second stage in G batch with experienced fellow Stella Canoe Club paddler, Neels Meyer, at 7.55am. They encountered problems at a rapid near Big Bend Rapid, about seven kilometres from the headwater of Inanda Dam.
Jordaan and Meyer’s boat hit a rock and the pair got into difficulty. Meyer managed to get out of their boat; however, Jordaan became trapped and was trapped underwater for approximately three minutes.
Paddlers rallied together and did everything possible to assist Jordaan; they assisted Meyer to extract Jordaan from the river and notified a paramedic downstream of the incident.
One of the paddlers who stopped to help managed to attract the attention of a safety helicopter that Dusi General Manager, Brett Austen Smith, was travelling in.
The terrain made landing the safety helicopter impossible and a second, smaller helicopter was dispatched, together with the race medical helicopter carrying the race doctor.
Jordaan’s family have been notified of the incident.
“This is a tragedy that has shaken the Dusi to the core,” said Austen Smith, who thanked the race participants who stopped to assist.
The Dusi Canoe Marathon race organisers sent their condolences to Jordaan’s family, friends and Meyer, and asked the paddling fraternity to join them in offering their support to Jordaan’s loved ones during this time.
