Shark-boat capsizes: Three dead
2008-04-13 15:40
Johannesburg - Two men from the United States and one from Norway died when the boat they were in capsized near Gansbaai on Sunday, a shark diving company said.
Chairperson of the Great White Shark Protection Foundation, Mariette Hopley, said the shark-cage diving boat had anchored just before a freak wave capsized the boat around 10:00 on Sunday.
The boat's crew had not started shark-cage diving when the wave struck.
Ten people on board were clients of Great White Shark Projects.
The other nine people were crew and staff members.
Other boats in the area went to help the stricken people.
One of the people swept off the boat was caught underneath the boat and had to be retrieved by divers.
The divers took the man to the mainland where paramedics managed to get a faint pulse, but were unable to revive him. He was certified dead.
The other two men were found drowned at sea and their bodies were retrieved.
The rest of the people on board were in a stable condition.
They were taken for X-rays to determine if they had internal injuries, Hopley said.
- SAPA