A Kommetjie resident who witnessed the SA Navy submarine tragedy described it as a horrifying experience. What she initially considered a rare sight to see quickly transformed into a heartbreaking event.
On a Wednesday afternoon, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) and various other emergency medical teams hurried to Kommetjie in Cape Town in response to reports of naval personnel encountering difficulties in the water after they were swept off the deck of a submarine near the Slangkop Lighthouse in Kommetjie.
Also read: Update: Three mariners killed after ‘huge wave’ strikes SA Navy vessel
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has disclosed the names of the three naval officers who lost their lives on Wednesday when a submarine in Kommetjie was struck by a powerful wave.
In an official statement, the SANDF has named the officers as follows: Lieutenant Commander Gillian Elizabeth Hector (serving as the executive officer), Master Warrant Officer William Masela Mathipa (fulfilling the role of coxswain), and Warrant Officer Class One Mmokwapa Lucas Mojela (in training as a coxswain).
These individuals were aboard the SAS Manthatisi at the time of the incident.
According to IOL, Linda Ash, a former navy member who lives close to the lighthouse on the mountainside, observed the entire incident from her balcony.
Speaking to IOL, Ash said that it’s not a common occurrence to witness naval submarines navigating along the coastline. She shared this observation with her local neighbourhood group while enjoying a coffee with a friend.
She explained, ‘Probably half an hour later, they came back with a helicopter and sort of hovered in front of my house just off the lighthouse, and they started doing an exercise. The sea was hectic.’
‘The waves were big. Unfortunately, where they were doing it, I know there is a reef out there, and I know big waves come out there, and just suddenly it will happen.’
‘I was on my deck by myself, and I saw everybody on the foredeck of the sub and the helicopter trying to lower someone off or lower someone up. I couldn’t really see, but it was a bucket seat coming towards the men on the foredeck. I was thinking the water was coming over the sub, how are they standing on it and not being washed off,’ Ash said.
Ash mentioned that her words had scarcely left her lips when a substantial wave approached. Simultaneously, a nearby helicopter was ascending, and all she could see were dangling feet.
She had assumed they had successfully accomplished their mission.
‘That’s when the wave came, and suddenly there was no one on the deck. I thought there was a man overboard. I immediately put it on our group. Someone who was also watching it alerted our NSRI.’
‘Our NSRI guys were unbelievable. It wasn’t even five minutes, and they were out at sea. I could see the sub was slowing down. The helicopter was hovering above the sub, and it was moving towards Simon’s Town.’
‘I kept watching it. There was lots of commotion next to the submarine. It wasn’t a couple of minutes later, and emergency vehicles were arriving at our slipway,’ Ash explained.
Having served in the Navy for two decades and having trained divers during her career, Ash’s familiarity with maritime matters, coupled with her husband’s involvement in the NSRI, compelled her to swiftly get into her car and investigate the situation.
‘When I got there, the guys that were rescued were sitting on the pavement. It was terrible. Two deceased were lying there. They were sitting in their wet clothing with a blanket, but CMR was so busy trying to revive the third member that obviously there were a lot of people around.’
‘I spoke to the CMR lady, and I said I will fetch clothes for these guys. By the time I got there (after fetching the clothing), they were in the ambulance. I got in the ambulance; obviously, they were distraught. They got out of their wet clothes and got dressed.’
‘I asked if they wanted to phone their families; those who wanted to phone, phoned their wives. I just sat with them. Tried to console them. When they heard two of their shipmates passed away, they were super distressed. The ambulance took them away,’ Ash said.
As previously covered by IOL, the SANDF had stated that the SA Navy submarine SAS Manthatisi was on its way to Cape Town and was in the process of performing a vertical transfer operation using the SA Air Force Maritime Lynx helicopter.
‘The VERTREP evolution was immediately cancelled, and efforts were launched to recover the members. A surface swimmer was dispatched from the helicopter to assist with the rescue.
‘Unfortunately, the recovery operation was negatively affected by rough sea conditions,’ the SANDF statement read.
Also read:
Africa’s first female submarine navigator among the three mariners killed
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