Two bodies wash up near Kleinkrantz

Update

GEORGE NEWS - Early in the new year two bodies were found on separate days near Kleinkrantz. On 10 January a fisherman discovered the badly decomposed body of an unknown man washed up on the beach.

According to Southern Cape police spokesperson, Sgt Chris Spies, the body has not yet been identified due to the advanced stage of decomposition.

This gruesome find came mere days after another man's body was found floating in the sea near the same beach on Wednesday 6 January.

Spies could not confirm this man's identity either, or whether it was the cave dweller who went missing on 2 January, as police are still awaiting feedback from the DNA analysis.

Cave dweller
The cave dweller, in his early 30s, went missing after he went swimming in the sea near the Kaaimans River bridge.

Shortly after the incident, Dion de Swardt, fellow cave dweller and friend of the missing man, told George Herald journalist Michelle Pienaar what he saw on that fateful afternoon.

De Swardt, who shared the landmark cave between Wilderness and Victoria Bay with the missing man and another person, explained that the current was extremely strong when his two friends went swimming that day.

"The current was incredibly strong and he [the missing man] got into trouble when the current swept him to sea. The other one, who went swimming with him, tried to help, but alas. In the end, the 'helper' could barely manage to swim to safety himself. It would've been suicide if I tried to go in."

De Swardt said he used hand signals to try to show his friend who was in trouble that he should not fight the current, but should allow the sea to pull him in.

"That is all one could do in such a situation, but he was already panicking and did not take anything in from what I or the other swimmer tried to show him. Everything happened so quickly," said De Swardt.

The cave, with its elaborate and creative decorations, has over the years become a well-known attraction in Wilderness, but due to recent criminal activities on the trail between Wilderness and Victoria Bay, it is not advised to walk there alone or in small groups.

Handmade decorations light up the cave.