'How I found my wife's body'
2004-12-31 10:01
Johannesburg - The second worst thing Ian Coetzee, 35, from West Rand ever had to do was finding his wife's body.
The worst was telling his two sons that their mother was dead.
This is what a broken Coetzee, 35, from Poort View said about the tsunamis in Phuket that claimed the life of his wife, Daphne, 35.
The Coetzees and their two sons, Dean, 12, and Michael, 8, were on holiday in Phuket since December 21 and would have returned to South Africa on Friday.
However, the devastated father and his sons - as well as his wife's remains - arrived in Johannesburg on an emergency flight from Phuket on Wednesday.
Saw her cling to tree
He last saw her alive as she was holding on to a tree as the giant wave swept down on them.
Coetzee and his two sons survived the tsunami because they managed to get onto the roof of a hotel near Phutong Beach in time. When the water receded, the search for his wife started.
"I promised my sons that I would not eat or sleep until I have found her. I could not tell them she was dead without having seen her first."
Coetzee found his wife's body in a wooden coffin in a local hospital the next day.
"How do you tell your children that their mother is dead?"
Despite the fact that he told his sons about their mother's death immediately after finding the body, Coetzee on Thursday still struggled to find the right answer to this question.
"I would sell everything I have to have my wife with me for one more night. We don't even have to talk. I would just like to hold her."
A memorial service for Mrs Coetzee will be held at the Mosaic Theatre in Daniel Street, Fairland, on January 7.