‘I have never seen waves so big’: restaurant owner
The owner of the South Coast restaurant that a huge wave damaged says while it wasn't the first time the establishment was deluged, it's definitely the worst this time around.
"I have never seen it so big in my life. I have lived on the coast all my life, and I have never ever seen it that big, but a couple of years ago when we had a similar incident, we put a whole lot of sandbags in the front, and that sort of helped through the years," says Jon Caple.
"This time, it was just too big. Some of those sandbags are 250 kilos each, and they just picked them up like balloons and smashed them 20-30 metres right through the restaurant."
A video shot by one of the patrons shows the water breaking the barrier and crashing into Mariners at Marina Beach on Sunday.
The water level rose before washing back into the sea.
READ: Eyewitness recalls moment massive waves crashed into restaurant
Five people were seriously injured, and one had to be rescued after she was pulled into the surf.
Caple says there were about 30 people in his establishment watching the rugby.
He says they were aware of the high spring tides that had battered coastal areas in the Eastern and Western Cape, and left a 93-year-old woman dead in the Wilderness and damaged property.
"It was quite a joke - one eye on the rugby and one eye on the surf. We didn't realise it was going to be so big. Half of the guys rushed outside to have a look at it and take some photographs, and then next, it crashed through the restaurant ceiling-high,” says Caple.
"It pushed people back to the restaurant, into the kitchen. One lady got sucked out of the restaurant right onto the beach and into the surf."
Clean-up efforts began on Monday morning.
Caple says this has not only devastated his business but the employees who rely on it.
