Durban - Recovery operators worked for more than 10 hours on Thursday to recover the bodies of four South Coast men, including a prominent KwaZulu-Natal businessman and his son, whose private helicopter crashed in a deep ravine near Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape.
Helicopters were deployed in a joint operation by Eastern Cape Emergency Medical Services, the Eastern Cape SAPS, and private rescue services to extract the bodies from the wreckage.
One of the deceased is Braam Swanepoel, the owner of Gladiator Security. His son, also named Braam, also died. All four of the crash victims were Margate residents.
A representative of Gladiator Security told The Mercury on Thursday, however, that "nothing is confirmed".
The SAPS in the Eastern Cape said they had opened an inquest for further investigation.
While adverse weather conditions on Wednesday were believed to have been contributing factors, the South African Civil Aviation Authority said it would investigate the cause of the incident, adding that it might "take months to complete".
It said the helicopter, a Robinson R44, had taken off from Margate Aerodrome.
The crash was reported on Wednesday night by community members in the area, who said they saw a helicopter crash into the mountains, according to the director of Eastern Cape EMS, Ashok Munilal.
"We got the call and dispatched two units, but the weather was bad, wind was gusting at around 30 knots and it was dark so we couldn't dispatch helicopters or rescue personnel."
Rescue operations resumed on Thursdaymorning.
A helicopter was called in to lower rescue operators to the scene, as there was no way for vehicles to navigate the mountain.
The SAPS had also sent a helicopter. The Eastern Cape SAPS said rescue operations were constantly interrupted by heavy winds.
They had extracted all the bodies on Thursday, and would return today to clear up the wreckage.
A source who knew all the dead, and who assisted with recovery operations, said the four had been travelling from Margate to the Wild Coast in a private helicopter, piloted by Swanepoel sr, who was "not experienced in piloting", and had only got his pilot's licence at the beginning of this year.
The source said the other deceased were not related to the Swanepoels.
He said Swanepoel jr owned an aviation company.
He said the "howling winds" in the area on Wednesday night could have caused the accident.
"It was wrong place, wrong time. But I can't say for sure what happened; it is only speculation," he said.
The source said some of the next of kin were not aware of the deaths on Thursday.
Gereen Swanepoel, the wife of Braam jr, wrote on Facebook: "I miss you so much - I'm so heartbroken that you had to go so soon, we had so many things to do."
Pat Symcox posted: "Braam and I walked a long road together since the start of his Gladiator security ... we will miss him terribly."
The Mercury