A 32-year-old woman working at the Gqeberha harbour in the Eastern Cape drowned after driving a Ford Ranger car into the sea this morning.
Woman Driving A Vehicle Onto A Vessel Veered Off And Drowned Into The Sea At Gqeberha Harbour
The victim, who was working on a night shift at the harbour, met her untimely demise in a freak accident while driving a Ford Ranger onto a vessel at the vehicle terminal.
Eyewitnesses recounted that the woman suddenly pressed the vehicle’s accelerator while driving onto the ship. She forcefully smashed a barrier before plunging into the deep sea. Witnesses described the horrific scene as the vehicle submerged with the woman trapped inside, unable to escape.
She drowned and died in the waters.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg shared the details of the accident:
“The woman could not exit the vehicle, which subsequently submerged, and she drowned. Her body was retrieved. Her name is being withheld until her next of kin has been informed.”
Emergency services and authorities rushed to the scene and found the young woman stuck inside the vehicle at 3.45 am, she added. Divers removed the body and took it to the mortuary for an autopsy.
Watch The Moment Emergency Services Retrieved The car From The Sea At Gqeberha Harbour
A sad video of the rescue operation is trending online, and people are in pain. When emergency services arrived, they dragged the car out of the water. By then, it was day.
A pulley retrieved the car, and water flowed out of the vehicle after the doors opened. The stunned witnesses were quiet during the operation, just recording the unimaginable scene.
Social media users echoed the witnesses’ sorrow.
RIP Messages
Linda:
“This is sad. Condolences to her family.”
Gareth:
“Ya Greystone. That’s what happens when people work 18 hours loading cars on ships. I would know [because] I worked for them. I left because the pay-to-hour rate was useless.”
Aldene:
“How tragic. People [are] struggling out there [and] will take just anything (sic) to survive, then they [are] exploited by these Big Bosses sitting in their offices earning fat salaries!… Modern-day Slavery [the] order of the day. Heartfelt condolences to her loved ones.
”
Lindrish:
“No happy things are published in these days worse in Gqebera. God, don’t forsake us. We are still your children. Condolences to the family.”