A fishing expedition on the Wild Coast ended in tragedy for five anglers from Durban when the team captain drowned after being hit by a freak wave on Saturday.
It is believed he was landing a shark when he was swept off the rocky shore near KuHlungulwana village between Hole-in-the-Wall and Coffee Bay at 7am on Saturday.
The corpse of Claude Naidoo, 40, was found two hours later by a group of young boys who were going for a morning swim, according to Mqanduli police spokesman Major Zamukulungisa Jozana.
Naidoo’s Megalodon Sports Angling Club teammates – among them his son, 16 – said Naidoo had been reeling in a shark when he was knocked off his rocky spot by a large wave.
His body was washed ashore about a kilometre away.
The Dispatch arrived at the shore to see Naidoo’s body being placed into a body bag.
Naidoo, a father of two, was a recycling contractor.
Devastated teammate Sain Pillay, 53, told the Dispatch at the scene that they had arrived at the fishing spot at 4am and started fishing at about 5am.
“Claude drowned at about 7am.”
He said Naidoo caught a shark and had managed to reel it out of the water when he was hit by a freak wave and fell into the water.
One of the club anglers told a local fisherman that Naidoo was trying to grab the shark’s tail when it wriggled violently, throwing him off balance and into the rough sea.
Pillay said they were relieved that Naidoo’s body had been found.
“Bodies are seldom found around here. At least the family will have that closure now.”
His team were regular visitors to the Wild Coast, he added, but was too upset to say any more.
Police on the scene said a postmortem would be conducted today, and Jozana said an inquest docket had been opened.
Local fisherman Simbonile Budleni, 23, said this was the second angler to drown after slipping on the rocks at the same fishing spot since 2007. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Fishing expedition ends in tragedy
It is believed he was landing a shark when he was swept off the rocky shore near KuHlungulwana village between Hole-in-the-Wall and Coffee Bay at 7am on Saturday.
The corpse of Claude Naidoo, 40, was found two hours later by a group of young boys who were going for a morning swim, according to Mqanduli police spokesman Major Zamukulungisa Jozana.
Naidoo’s Megalodon Sports Angling Club teammates – among them his son, 16 – said Naidoo had been reeling in a shark when he was knocked off his rocky spot by a large wave.
His body was washed ashore about a kilometre away.
The Dispatch arrived at the shore to see Naidoo’s body being placed into a body bag.
Naidoo, a father of two, was a recycling contractor.
Devastated teammate Sain Pillay, 53, told the Dispatch at the scene that they had arrived at the fishing spot at 4am and started fishing at about 5am.
“Claude drowned at about 7am.”
He said Naidoo caught a shark and had managed to reel it out of the water when he was hit by a freak wave and fell into the water.
One of the club anglers told a local fisherman that Naidoo was trying to grab the shark’s tail when it wriggled violently, throwing him off balance and into the rough sea.
Pillay said they were relieved that Naidoo’s body had been found.
“Bodies are seldom found around here. At least the family will have that closure now.”
His team were regular visitors to the Wild Coast, he added, but was too upset to say any more.
Police on the scene said a postmortem would be conducted today, and Jozana said an inquest docket had been opened.
Local fisherman Simbonile Budleni, 23, said this was the second angler to drown after slipping on the rocks at the same fishing spot since 2007. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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