Just days before he was set to head back to the USA, a 30-year-old man died after falling overboard at Hazelmere Dam.

The man was out boating at the dam with 2 friends when the accident happened.

According to the friends, he was sitting on the front of the boat, but fell off and did not resurface, said IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson, Paul Herbst.

“The skipper of the boat reported that after the man fell off the boat, he heard a knocking noise. When the body was recovered, there was a head wound consistent with an impact to the propeller of the boat,” he said.

The friends attempted to turn the boat around and search for the victim, but were unable to find him.

He was not wearing a lifejacket.

Although born in South Africa, the man had spent most of his life in the USA.

He had been in South Africa for around 2 years, renovating a flat following his father’s passing.

For the past 7 months, he had been taking a course in Sodwana Bay to become a master scuba and free diving instructor, spending most of his time at sea.

Search and rescue teams from Pietermaritzburg and Durban arrived on scene on Sunday afternoon but were unable to locate the body before the search had to be called off for poor light.

The body was recovered on Monday.

This story has been updated for accuracy.