Durban - The family of a Phoenix grandfather who fell on to a rock and died after a suspected heart attack have told of their grief and how a fun “boys’ outing” fishing trip turned to tragedy.
Dorisami “Bully” Govender, 73, of Longcroft, was with his son-in-law, Kevin Naicker, and his two grandchildren at Salt Rock on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast on Monday, a public holiday.
Naicker said on Wednesday that after spending a few hours fishing, they were about to pack up when he heard Govender fall on to the rock.
“Dad was standing behind me but in front of the children when I heard a loud thud. As I turned around I saw him slouched to the ground,” he said.
“I initially thought that he had slipped and hit his head on the rocks that we were standing on, but when I bent over towards him, the boys told me that he crouched down, leant over to his bag and just fell.”
Naicker said his father-in-law was unconscious and he tried for about 25 minutes to revive him.
“I started administering CPR immediately, while the boys ran for help. There was no blood or any head wounds, so I felt that we could definitely resuscitate him. Unfortunately there was no one around except a fisherman who was high up on this huge rock,” he said.
The police arrived first and then called for an ambulance.
The paramedics immediately checked his heart, said Naicker.
“When I saw the flat lines appearing on the paramedic’s machine while they conducted the heart test, I feared the worst. They said his pulse was gone and all major organs were non-responsive. He was declared dead.”
Daily News