Cape Town - In a poignant farewell to the Irish couple who drowned in Plettenberg last week while on honeymoon, flowers almost identical to the wife’s bridal bouquet were placed on the beach where they had lost their lives.
The British Consulate and the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism on Thursday conducted a wreath laying ceremony on Robberg Beach where the couple – John Rodgers, 28, and his wife Lynette, 26 – drowned last Friday just six days after they exchanged vows at the Ballygally Castle Hotel in Antrim, Ireland.
The couple, who lived in Belfast, arrived in South Africa last Tuesday to start their honeymoon and had just arrived in Plettenberg Bay when tragedy struck. Shortly after their arrival, the couple went for a swim when it is believed that strong rip currents swept them out to sea. Their bodies were discovered in shallow surf at about 6pm by passersby.
The ceremony on Thursday at 11am was believe to have been at the same time family and friends paid their final respects to the couple during a memorial service held in their hometown.
“Our thoughts go out to the family dealing with this devastating tragedy,” honorary British Consul in the Eastern Cape Jackie Barclay said during the ceremony.
Barclay said he had been in contact with the family and that their wish was to have the wreath laying ceremony and memorial service at the same time. He added that he also felt it necessary to thank the locals who responded to the drowning.
“We are grateful for your assistance and all your efforts in trying to resuscitate them.” Among those who attended the ceremony were members of the Plettenberg Bay station of the National Sea Rescue Institute who wanted pay their respects, including Brad Thomas who was one of the first to respond to the emergency call.
Tourism safety and support officer for the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism Ilze Jacobs – who had the wreath made up for the couple – said she had chosen similar flowers to Lynette’s bridal bouquet, which included white roses and several other purple flowers, as a final tribute.
Barclay said he officially identified the bodies on Wednesday as the families had been unable to travel to South Africa. The autopsies were concluded in Knysna by a pathologist from the Western Cape Department of Health on Tuesday.
Bitou mayor Memory Booysen bemoaned the tragedy and said that on behalf of the Plettenberg Bay community, he wished to express his “heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the couple”.
Cape Argus
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