UPDATE | Body of boater swept away at Roodeplaat Dam found

08 February 2022 - 13:33
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Christo Fritz and life partner Antoinette Zandberg.
Christo Fritz and life partner Antoinette Zandberg.
Image: Supplied

The body of Christo Fritz, who was with a friend testing a boat on the Roodeplaat Dam when they went missing on Saturday, has been found.

Fritz's body was one of two recovered on Tuesday, said Tshwane emergency spokesperson Charles Mabaso.

The second body was found in Centurion.

“The search teams managed to find him [Fritz] and the recovery of the body is under way,” Mabaso said.

Speaking to TimesLIVE before Mabaso's confirmation that Fritz's body had been found, Fritz's partner Antoinette Zandberg said she had been distraught after the boat was swept away by raging waters over the Roodeplaat Dam wall at the weekend.

Zandberg said the past few days had been a nightmare but she was trying to stay hopeful — but those hopes were dashed at the news that Fritz had been found drowned.

“According to the guy he was with, who survived, they were close to the wall when the engine stopped and the water pushed them over. At that moment it was a matter of survival.

“The boat got carried away 20km,” said Zandberg.

The friend was found alive on Sunday. Rescue and recovery teams on Monday found a piece of the small boat and life jackets.

“Our three children keep asking me when he’s coming home,” Zandberg said tearfully.

The Tshwane emergency services department activated its disaster operations centre on Saturday to co-ordinate a multidisciplinary approach to response and recovery efforts after flooding in parts of Tshwane from February 4.

Police divers continued the search on Tuesday though the waters kept rising. 

Meanwhile, water rescue technicians and divers managed to rescue 27 people from vehicles trapped on flooded roads and at low water crossings and who had sought safety in trees.

“So far, two other fatalities have been recorded related to the floods,” said Tshwane EMS spokesperson Charles Mabaso.

“The SAPS recovered the body of a man on the afternoon of February 6 from a bakkie that was washed away in the Centurion area on the night of February 5.

“The emergency services department confirmed reports that the body of a man, who allegedly drowned in his shack at Soul City informal settlement in Mamelodi, was recovered by the SAPS and pathology services.”

TimesLIVE


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