TWO TOURISTS, one of them from Britain, died in South Africa when their boat capsized during a seal-watching trip near Cape Town, rescue officials said on Sunday (October 14).
The charter boat with 38 people aboard capsized on Saturday afternoon (October 13) in Hout Bay. The other 36 passengers were rescued, some of them after spending hours in the hull.
One of the victims, 64-year-old Peter Philip Hyett, was declared dead on the scene, said Sea Rescue services. The other dead tourist had not yet been identified.
Hyett’s wife Suzanne Linda, 49, and their daughter Helen were rescued and hospitalised. Cape Town city said the family came from Vale of Glamorgan borough in Wales.
They had been on vacation in the city, South Africa’s premier tourist destination, since October 1 and had been due to return home on Sunday (October 14).
Two other British citizens were trapped in the boat’s hull for almost four hours before they could be freed late on Saturday (October 13), the rescuers said.
The charter boat had been headed to Duiker Island, a popular seal colony off the Atlantic coast.