Dramatic mountain rescue
"I went through the statements made by his friends but I still cannot figure out what happened on the day he died. I have lost my light."
BADFONTEIN – “I do not understand what happened to my son.
“I went through the statements made by his friends but I still cannot figure out what happened on the day he died. I have lost my light.”
These are the raw emotions expressed by Mr Patrick Tshabalala, who cannot come to terms with his son, Craig’s death after he fell down a slope in the Verlorenkloof/Badfontein area on Saturday.
Craig was a final-year student at the University of Johannesburg in audiovisual communications.
He was the youngest of three brothers. Patrick is a colonel in Mamelodi East in Johannesburg.
The newspaper interviewed the family at the Lydenburg Hospital on Tuesday.
A large-scale search was launched shortly after the tragic accident and local rescue worker, Mr Deon Broekman was also called to the scene.
“We received the call just after 16:00. The victim and four of his friends went on a hiking trail and apparently wandered off, ending up on the cliffs.
“At one of the slopes, he slipped and fell.”One of his friends managed to climb down to him, but he was unfortunately already dead.
“While they determined the GPS coordinates, one of them went to the lodge for help.”
The search for the body was called off later that night due to poor visibility and only continued the next morning, when a light aircraft was deployed.
“We circled the location a couple of times, but the fact that the victim wore a khaki shirt made him difficult to spot.
“His friends were too traumatised to pinpoint the exact place where he fell.
“While we were circling, Capt Pottie Potgieter and other rescue workers discovered the body and signalled to us.”
Journalists were, however, not allowed near the accident scene until the body was recovered.
It was retrieved shortly after 11:00. Broekman said he spent about six hours at the scene on Saturday night and another four the next morning.
“I only learnt about my son’s death the next day. To my surprise the family who travelled with him did not contact me after the accident,” said Patrick.
Broekman said it was unlikely that Craig could have survived the fall. “He had severe head and spinal injuries.”
Getting information about the incident proved challenging as the the town’s electricity was off due to Eskom maintenance being performed. An autopsy was done in Bushbuck-ridge on Monday.
His body was brought to Lydenburg Hospital on Tuesday from where the family would transport it back to Johannesburg for burial this Saturday.
They will stop at Verlorenkloof to collect Craig’s soul as per tradition in their culture.
“My son was an amazing person and always the first I went to when I needed advice.”He was a peacemaker, he always wanted to resolve things without inflicting any harm.
“The one day I handed him R50 for something he needed. Craig saw a homeless man and immediately gave him the money.
“When I asked him about it he said, ‘Unlike him, I have food to eat’,” concluded the distraught father.
