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Tragic end to church outing
22/02/2008 09:25 - (SA)
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| A photograph of Chantelle Windvogel, who drowned during a church outing at Cape St Francis. (Die Burger) |
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Riette Olivier, Die Burger
Port Elizabeth - There were scenes of fear and sadness at a Cape St Francis beach on Thursday after a member of a Christian group drowned when she and her friends were swept out to sea.
Chantelle Windvogel, 21, from Humansdorp, who was doing her discipleship at Victory Church, was drawn into the water and drowned.
Another student, Kirsty Vockerodt, 19, from Port Elizabeth, nearly died. By late on Thursday she was in a stable condition in the intensive care unit of Netcare Greenacres Hospital in Port Elizabeth.
About 30 students decided to visit the beach as a "family". They played volleyball and shortly after 11:00 decided to cool off in the sea. According to Pastor Jacques van Heerden they were in waist-high water when they got caught in a strong current.
Swept out to sea
An anonymous witness said five students were swept out to sea. "Three of them managed to get out on their own, but the two girls were in too deep. Some of the other students later managed to save them from the sea."
The students started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the young women, especially Windvogel. Rescue workers from the National Sea Rescue Institute also tried to resuscitate her, but she was declared dead on the way to the Life Humansdorp Hospital, said police spokesperson Superintendent Priscilla Naidu.
Vockerodt was also taken to hospital, where she was stabilised before being transferred to Netcare Greenacres Hospital.
"We are devastated by the news. The other students are receiving counselling by a pastoral psychologist from our church," said Van Heerden.
Windvogel's friends and family were very shocked to hear about her sudden death. "I was on my way home. Somebody in a taxi called me and told me my eldest daughter had died," said her mother, before she and her daughter, Charmaine, 17, burst into tears. Her younger brother, Romano, 15, stood trembling next to them.
Windvogel's aunt, Carolina Windvogel, said the whole family was in mourning. "She was a wonderful person and had so many plans for her life."
Difficulty reaching emergency services
Residents from Cape St Francis said Windvogel's life might have been saved if the police were more co-operative.
Trudie Malan said she battled for a long time to get hold of the police, since the number of the local police station had changed and the new number was nowhere to be found.
An anonymous resident later called the emergency number 10111. "I asked the woman at radio control for the NSRI's number, but she didn't even know who that was."
The police was apparently supposed to have called a local doctor immediately, but Dr John Malan was informed about the incident only after the ambulance had arrived from Humansdorp.
There were apparently no lifeguards deployed at the beach.
- Die Burger
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