Funeral instead of wedding for family
2013-02-25 09:05
Pretoria - Family members who travelled from Britain to
South Africa for a wedding were told at the airport that they would be
attending a funeral instead.
This came after the groom died in a freak accident one week
before the wedding, reported Beeld.
Seymore Coetsee, 34, a luxury hunting lodge manager, was
busy moving a washing machine into his new home with his fiancée when his
pistol fell from his belt onto the floor and a shot went off.
Safety clip
Bryn Thomas, owner of Swala Lodge, about 30km west of
Bela-Bela in Mabalingwe, said the pistol’s safety clip was probably not on when
the weapon fell onto the floor and the shot went off.
Coetsee always carried the gun at the back of his belt.
The bullet entered his stomach and went out his back. It
took the ambulance an hour-and-a-half to reach the remote farm. Coetsee died on
the way to hospital.
His fiancée, Samantha (Sam) Sampson, 34, was right behind
him when the shot went off.
The couple were moving furniture into their new home ahead
of their wedding next Saturday.
Coetzee's sister, Annemie, is married to Sampson's brother,
Marius. They were unaware of the tragedy when they arrived in South Africa on
Sunday.
Coetsee’s aunt, Trudie Laubscher, said the family was
devastated.
“It is terrible to meet happy family at the airport and to
tell them they will now be going to a funeral,” said a tearful Laubscher.
Thomas said, “We were all like family on the farm and he
worked for me for 13 years. He was a professional hunter and known overseas in
hunting circles. I got messages of condolences even from American senators this
morning. It just feels so unreal.”
