By Tony Carnie
A romantic late-night swim in the crocodile-infested St Lucia estuary ended tragically for a young Johannesburg holidaymaker.
The remains of 22-year-old Tracy Hunt were recovered by KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife officers and police on Sunday afternoon, almost 36 hours after she went swimming in the muddy waters of the Lake St Lucia mouth with her boyfriend, Claudio Celestino, 25.
Officials said her dismembered body was found by fishermen at Honeymoon Bend, about 1,5km from the scene of the attack. It is believed she was attacked by a crocodile shortly before midnight on Friday.
The couple arrived in St Lucia on Friday evening and went out for dinner in the village after booking into the iGwala Gwala guest lodge.
They returned to the lodge later and decided to go to the beach for a swim.
It is believed the couple drove to the estuary and then waded out in the dark into chin-deep water.
Celestino, who visited St Lucia in April, was apparently under the impression they were in the sea, and was not aware that they were on the edge of a dirty and fast-flowing estuary.
Residents say the shape of the mouth has changed dramatically since recent heavy rains and floodwaters, but officials noted that crocodiles and sharks were sighted on a regular basis, and there are several signboards warning visitors about these dangers.
Sources said that as the couple were walking out of the water, Hunt screamed out in pain.
Celestino turned immediately to see his girlfriend disappearing underwater. He apparently saw a crocodile but was unable to do anything to save her.
He returned to the lodge to report the tragedy and Wildlife officers and police divers searched the area by boat and from the shoreline for four hours.
The search proved fruitless, although more than eight crocodiles were spotted.
The attack has sparked a fresh appeal to visitors to exercise extreme caution, and several new signs are also being erected around the estuary by officials.
Five years ago a Durban man was killed by a crocodile in the St Lucia estuary. The victim, Jeff Bolleurs, had been trying to save a friend, who had been attacked in calf-deep water while washing mud off his feet.
Last year, a Richards Bay schoolboy, Louis Kruger, was also killed by a crocodile at Mapelane, south of St Lucia.