Cape Town – Stellenbosch University has expressed shock at the death of a young couple whose bodies were found in a vehicle submerged in a flooded quarry in Stellenbosch on Monday.
Police said first-year science student Ethan Kirkland, 19, and his girlfriend Leila Lees, were reported missing on Saturday. The quarry is near the block of flats where the couple were last seen on Friday.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said a community member had spotted an object in the water and alerted the authorities.
Divers from the SAPS provincial diving unit retrieved Kirkland and Lees’s bodies from the vehicle.
Professor Deresh Ramjugernath, the the university’s deputy vice-chancellor of Learning and Teaching, said the death of the students was a blow to the campus community.
“Our hearts go out to the families of Ethan and Leila, whose lives were cut short by this tragedy. They had a bright future ahead of them and we cannot imagine the amount of pain their parents and loved ones are going through at this point.
“May the families have strength to go through this painful and challenging time. Our thoughts are also with the sister of Ms Lees who is a Maties student,” Ramjugernath said.
Ramjugernath said he had been in contact with the family.
The dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Louise Warnich, said staff and students were shocked and saddened by the deaths of Lee and Kirkland.
Warnich has urged students who need counselling to phone the university's 24-hour crisis service at 021 808 4994 during office hours or 010 205 3032 / 082 557 0880 after hours.
He has also requested anyone with information on the incident to contact Crime Stop at 086 001 0111 or the Stellenbosch police at 082 522 1912 / 021 809 5000.