Durban - WHILE the SANDF prepares to celebrate Armed Forces Day on Friday, the family of a Bluff seaman commemorated the third anniversary of his death on Monday.
Leading Seaman Amrithlall Tothara Ramdin, 41, died while trying to rescue three staff members of the Department of Public Works from a gas-filled sewage pit at the Durban Naval Base.
His colleagues - Able Seaman Francois William Mundell, 26, from the SAS Makhanda in the Western Cape; and Seaman Henro ter Borg, 21, from the Maritime Reaction Squadron in Cape Town - also died during the rescue efforts.
A promise that they would be honoured posthumously for bravery has yet to be fulfilled.
In February 2017, the department employees were repairing a sewage valve when gas fumes leaked out and they lost consciousness.
A contractor managed to stop a maritime reaction bus that morning.
Ramdin, of the Durban Naval Base, Mundell and Ter Borg, who were among the occupants on the bus, went to help.
They went into the sewage pit in an attempt to rescue the staff, but died after inhaling the toxic fumes.
Other members from the SANDF, who wore compressed air breathing apparatus, later entered the pit and recovered the six bodies.
After the incident, the SANDF released a statement saying Ter Borg, of Brackenfell in Cape Town, had been on a tour in Durban before the Armed Forces Day (AFD) celebrations. AFD is observed annually on February 21.
At the event in 2017, following their deaths, then president Jacob Zuma conveyed his condolences to the families.
Chief of the Navy, Vice-Admiral Mosiwa Hlongwane, then reportedly said Ramdin, Mundell and Ter Borg would be recognised and honoured posthumously.
This week, Ramdin’s brother, Raj, said: “We were told two years ago that my brother and the two seamen would be honoured for bravery, but nothing has happened.
“It is upsetting and sad for the family. We have been waiting for my brother’s rights to be given to him. We all know he died a hero and we don’t want his death to go in vain.
“I know the navy is investigating the incident, but it should not take this long to add him and the two other brave men to their list for an award. They gave their lives to save people.”
Ramdin’s wife, Verusha, who lives on the Bluff, said that on the morning of the incident she called her husband, as she usually did.
“We chatted and he said he would see me later, but we did not know this would be our last conversation,” she said.
“Later in the day, I picked up our youngest child, Surav (then 9 years), from school. I heard the sirens and saw the emergency vehicles drive by, but I did not think anything about this until my husband’s commander called.
“He said my husband died a hero. Everything thereafter was a blur. All I focused on was our two kids.”
Verusha said that Ramdin often told her his job entailed saving lives.
“And knowing civilians were in danger, he knew he could not stand by.”
Verusha said they heard that Ramdin would be honoured, but nothing had been formally communicated to them. She said that whenever she met and spoke to her husband’s former colleagues, they told her he died a hero.
“If a medal is awarded it would be great, but if not, it’s okay.”
The couple were married for 17 years.
She said that before his death, he spoke about a family trip to Cape Town and buying another home on the Bluff.
“He was also planning my 40th birthday in June of that year.”
Surav and his sister, Saiyuri, 18, said there was a gap in their lives and they often thought about the things they did with their dad. For Surav it was fishing, and for Saiyuri it was getting his advice.
Saiyuri said: “He gave me good advice about certain things and comforted me when I needed it.”
The SANDF had not responded to queries by the time of publication.