SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
Suiderkus shipwreck in Namibia
July 25:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1881: A south-westerly gale resulted in the wrecking of three vessels and the loss of life of 30 people off the East London coast in the Eastern Cape:
• Clymping, a wooden British barque with only one survivor;
• Brighton, a British barque with only two survivors with the captain being ashore at the time;
• Die Heimath, a Norwegian barque with the captain being ashore at the time.
1928: Sir Frederick, this South African tug was scuttled off Cape Recife near Thunderbolt Reef in the Eastern Cape.
1979: Tong Nam, this Singaporean ore carrier foundered during a storm about 50 km from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. The captain had tried to return to Durban to find shelter with a broken hull, but it broke in two in the mountainous seas. Of the 38 on board, only six were rescued by helicopter.
1992: A Bonanza Learjet 24XR (registration no. ZS-MGC) crashed into meteorological equipment after attempting to land at Lanseria Airport in Gauteng. The accident was determined to have been caused by a nose gear centralizing cam that had been damaged when the jet was towed up a steep incline. When landing, the nosewheel was in an offset position which caused the jet to swerve violently off the runway as it touched down. The two people that were on board survived.
1993: Taiyin 1, this fishing vessel was lost east of East London in the Eastern Cape with the crew of 27 being rescued. Very little is known about it.
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