A tourist’s trip to the potholes at Bourke’s Luck in Mpumalanga ended in tragedy late yesterday afternoon when he slipped and fell to his death. A challenging operation to recover his body, saw the tourist attraction closed for some time yesterday.

Search and Rescue South Africa (SARZA) Lowveld chairman Andrew Geldenhuys said the man, believed to be between 30 and 40 years old, went off a trail and onto the rocks before slipping and falling about 30m into the potholes.

Having sustained a massive head injury, which Geldenhuys said most likely was the cause of death, the man became lodged between two rocks in the moving water.

“It was a challenging recovery that took about three hours. The man weighed about 120kg,” said Geldenhuys.

Working from the bridge, the SARZA team lowered a rescue team member with a basket to the trapped victim. Next, Geldenhuys clambered down on his own steam before they strapped the victim into the basket and performed a 90-degree lift out of the site.

Social media commentators speculate the man may have taken a step too far while attempting to take a unique selfie. However, Geldenhuys could not confirm this.

“We’ve had lots of calls before of people falling while taking selfies, but I cannot confirm that is the case in this instance,” said Geldenhuys.

A notification of closure issued yesterday afternoon by the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency has since been lifted and the Bourke’s Luck Potholes are open to the public.