Agonising wait as search for drowned man continues

An unidentified woman hugs Menita Visagie while an SAPS Search and Rescue team and emergency services members search for her missing partner, Jaco Badenhorst, at Bon Accord Dam. Picture: Phill Magakoe

An unidentified woman hugs Menita Visagie while an SAPS Search and Rescue team and emergency services members search for her missing partner, Jaco Badenhorst, at Bon Accord Dam. Picture: Phill Magakoe

Published Sep 13, 2016

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Pretoria - Concerned family members and friends on Monday waited in vain for the missing body of Jaco Badenhorst, 43, who drowned in the Bon Accord Dam, north of Pretoria on Saturday.

But police and Tshwane emergency service rescue divers are continuing their search for the body.

The long wait on Monday was characterised by disappointment, sobs, tears and hugs as the SAPS search and rescue boats searched for the missing man.

Badenhorst drowned while swimming with his close friends. His body has not yet been found despite intensive efforts by police divers and emergency services.

His girlfriend, Menita Visagie, and close friends stood at the banks of the dam and prayed.

His friends said Badenhorst was at the dam with his girlfriend but decided to call eight of his friends to join him for a ride on a motorboat.

During the ride, three of his friends decided to jump into the dam for a swim and Badenhorst joined them.

He apparently experienced difficulties while swimming and drowned.

It is understood that Badenhorst alerted his friends that he needed help before disappearing under water. Tshwane emergency services spokesman Johan Pieterse said: “The team at the dam will continue until they find the body.”

Search dogs and dive teams have been deployed to look for the missing man. Badenhorst’s relatives have remained at the dam since he went missing.

Pieterse said the team suspected he might be stuck to something under the water, but they believe he will eventually resurface.

“It usually takes three days to find someone, but we still have hope,” Pieterse said.

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