Off-duty Netcare 911 employee Jonathan Erasmus was taking a photograph from Lookout Point on Chapman’s Peak on Saturday evening when strong winds caused him to lose his footing and fall hundreds of metres into the water, said Hout Bay police spokesman Inspector Tanya Lesch.
The 24-year-old, known as Jono to his friends, was on holiday in the Cape with colleagues Annie Blom and Francois Kellermann on a private excursion when the incident happened.
Netcare 911 operations director Peter Feurstein commended the efforts of the pair who were on the scene at the time.
Blom laid her life on the line trying to save Erasmus by climbing down the cliff after him. She was rescued with minor injuries by Cape Town Mountain Rescue.
Kellermann alerted various emergency and rescue teams including the National Sea Rescue Institute who were called to the scene at 6pm to search for Erasmus, who was found floating on the water.
Emotional tributes to Erasmus were pouring in yesterday on a Facebook group set up in his memory.
"Jono touched so many lives and many people didn't even know his name but he continued to care for these strangers," wrote the group’s creator, Jean Pierre La Grange.
Writing in Afrikaans, Kellermann said: "Brother my friend, my mentor my colleague, as I sit here before Facebook I cannot describe how heartsore I am. We walked a path that was our own and it was so special for me. You were an unbelievable person and awesome AEA (ambulance emergency assistant) and dispatcher to work with. You were there for me when I needed a brother the most. Your lust for life and passion for everything you did was remarkable and an example for all of us. It was an honour to spend the last few days with you. Rest in peace."
One friend uploaded the words to a paramedic’s prayer.
Kyleigh Howat said AEA would never have been the same without Erasmus. "You gave me so much useful advice that I can proudly say I used," she said.
More than 135 people had joined the group by yesterday afternoon.
Feurstein said the close-knit paramedic community was "deeply saddened by the loss of a young and much valued colleague".
"Family, colleagues and friends of Erasmus have been given counselling," he said.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced by the family.
An inquest docket has been opened.
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