Three deaths in a week on promenade
The South African Civil Aviation Authority’s Accident and Incident Investigations Division (SACAA AIID) has launched a formal investigation into the tandem paragliding crash that claimed the life of a former Scotland international rugby player Greig Oliver, 58.
Mr Oliver was a player development officer with Munster Rugby Academy in Ireland.
He died following a mid-air collision with another tandem paraglider off Sea Point Promenade on Monday July 3 (“Man dies in tandem paragliding crash,” Atlantic Sun, July 11).
In a statement, the AIID said the South African Hang-gliding and Paragliding Association (SAHPA) had formally requested the investigation into the crash involving a DUET 2 paraglider "due to the specific complexities and scope of the accident“.
The AIID said it would issue a preliminary report 30 days from the day of this accident.
SAHPA chairman Louis Stanford said: “I understand that this was a complex and challenging rescue and can only express my gratitude to each of your teams."
Two more people died along the scenic walkway in the days following the paragliding accident.
On Tuesday July 4, a Sea Point property agent Laureen Leps was swept into the sea. She was rescued but died overnight in hospital.
On Thursday July 6, a man’s body was seen floating in the surfline at 2pm, according to councillor Nicola Jowell.
“He is thought to have been in the water for a short period of time, maybe an hour or so and was well dressed. He is believed to be in his early 50s and from Somalia. The circumstances of how he ended up in the water are not known,” she said.
