Cape Town - “One minute he was there and the next he was gone,” said a witness who saw Moegamat Kamaar, 9, slip and fall on the rocks before he was washed into the sea at Sandy Bay on Sunday.
According to the eyewitness, Christiaan Mouton, he had been one of the people taking a stroll with the boy on Sunday.
“That day started off normal for all of us. We went hiking at Table Mountain that morning before heading out to the beach to take a stroll.
“As adults, we were sitting about five metres away from where the kids were playing.
“Both Moegamat and the other boy around age 15 were playing on the rocks. Moegamat barely went into the water. Strong beach waves came, and one moment he was there and the other he was not.”
Kamaar’s foster father, Rubin du Preez, 62, said he now feels like a failure since he could not dive into the water to rescue his son.
“I feel so helpless and more of a failure. We came to the beach as four people to take a stroll. My son and grandson were playing when we heard the grandson screaming for help.
“I feel so bad that this happened while he was under my care. The oceans were too strong that day.
“I am a good swimmer but I am not a strong swimmer anymore because of my age so there’s nothing much I could have done to help and save him.”
At the scene, day three of the search, more than one part of Sandy Bay Beach was covered. EMS rescuers, along with a police diving unit, had to use a drone over the ocean as the waves were still dangerous for the divers to go in.
In close distance to where the boy was last seen, there were also foot patrols and boat patrols on the deeper side of the beach.