Family devastated by relative's fatal boating accident at Hazelmere Dam
The family of a man who died in a boating accident at Hazelmere Dam, north of Durban, over the weekend say they are heartbroken.
The body of 30-year-old Stefan Sonnthal was recovered on Monday, a day after the incident.
It's understood he was on a boat with two friends when he fell off and hit a propeller before disappearing under the water.
Sonnthal's mother, Susan, has told Newswatch her son was born in South Africa and attended school here before going to university abroad.
She says he had dual citizenship due to her being an American citizen.
Sonnthal says her son, who was a free dive and scuba instructor, had moved back to Umdloti two years ago.
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Sonnthal described her son as a "fun-loving, caring family person who was absolutely a loyal South African and he enjoyed bringing what he could to everybody around".
She's stressed the importance of wearing a life jacket after the tragic incident.
"And if there is any good that could come from this loss, it is to impress on everyone to please, I don't care how calm the water is, I don't care how experienced you are, put on a life jacket.
"My son had done a free-diving course. He could hold his breath underwater for four minutes.
"It has nothing to do with how good a swimmer you are. He wasn't wearing a life jacket and on top of that, even though the accident he may or may not had succumbed, but if he'd worn a life jacket, I wouldn't had sent two days waiting for them to find him."
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