The mystery of the missing Ironman triathlete took a tragic turn when his body was found in the Port Elizabeth harbour‚ weighted down with a tyre attached to a rope tied around his ankles.
The discovery of Gabonese sportsman David Bellet-Brissaud’s body was made after new CCTV footage was supplied by Transnet.
The footage‚ in which Bellet-Brissaud was identified by the Adidas marking on the arm of his top‚ also showed him on the opposite side of the harbour to where it was initially thought he had been.
The news has devastated his family. His brother‚ Gael‚ left the harbour in tears‚ accompanied by a police official‚ after formally identifying the body on Thursday afternoon.
An emotional and upset Gael asked last night for privacy for his family.
“Please‚ I want to beg for some time for our family now. It is a devastating time for us. We had a shock.”
The new footage showed that the police had been searching on the wrong side of the harbour after a man seen jumping between boats on CCTV footage was mistakenly identified as 48-year-old Bellet-Brissaud.
- The Herald
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