Boac wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 6:36 pm
A tragic ?accident? I am a little confused by the Woody link - 3 killed ?and? "Lieutenant Gillian Malouw"? Was it in fact 4 or was she a Lt Cdr with a different name? Can anyone translate?
"As confirmed by the SANDF, the names of the submariners who died are Lieutenant Commander Gillian Elizabeth Hector (Executive Officer), Master Warrant Officer William Masela Mathipa (Coxswain) and Warrant Officer Class One Mmokwapa Lucas Mojela (Coxswain under training)."
I was led to believe that the total number of people involved in this accident was 8 and that 3 people have died as a result, with one senor officer badly injured, thus leaving 5 alive, one of whom is seriously injured, with the rest unscathed, or lightly injured (but in hospital according to the account below... confused of Essex!). One of the three fatalities was the lady navigator.
Three South African navy personnel have died and a senior officer is fighting for life after a submarine crew was swept off deck by large waves near Cape Town.
Seven crew members on the SAS Manthatisi were swept off the vessel’s deck as a military helicopter was attempting to drop supplies down to the submarine on the ocean surface on Wednesday.
South Africa’s Department of Defence said that all crew members were rescued, but three were pronounced dead.
A crew member who was sent from the Air Force Lynx helicopter to help the submarine crew was also rescued and is in hospital alongside the four surviving submariners.
The National Sea Rescue Institute and other emergency services were called in to help with the rescue, the Department of Defence said.
There will be an inquiry into the failed operation and the resulting deaths, the department added.
The South African National Defence Force, which comprises all the armed forces, said a female officer with the rank of lieutenant commander was among the three who died.
Cape Town and other areas on South Africa‘s south coast have been hit by extremely rough seas since last weekend, caused by a phenomenon known as “spring tide”.
South African armed forces analyst Dean Wingrin told the defenceWeb website that the submarine was moving to the Cape Town waterfront for a three-day navy exhibition starting on Saturday.
The navy has planned the exhibition to mark South Africa‘s Heritage Day national holiday on Sunday.
The SAS Manthatisi is one of three German-built Type 209/1400 Heroine-class submarines in the South African navy fleet and had returned to the water earlier this year after undergoing maintenance work.
I have asked for specific details from a friend who is currently a navy diver in the SANDF, based in Simonstown. Perhaps he can shed some light on the numbers and the root cause of this tragedy.
The implication being that one senor officer is dead, and another seriously injured. Another black day for the South African Navy, and no, that was not intended as a slur.
The observer of fools in military south and north...