Precious life is fleeting

If the Covid pandemic taught us anything, it is that happiness is fleeting and that life is uncertain and should be treasured. Thousands who believed themselves to be in sound health, and who enjoyed job and salary security, soon discovered that life carries no guarantees.

In an instant, the world as we knew it and trusted for stability, was turned upside down and shaken to the core.

The message was reinforced over the weekend with the tragic houseboat incident on Lake Jozini where a family of tourists was one moment enjoying the holiday of a lifetime at one of the luxury holiday jewels of the region, and the next were literally in a life and death struggle.

Sadly, for one of the visitors and two of the crew, the incident marked their final moments on this earth.

For those who survived and for the houseboat owners, management and staff, the traumatic event will be indelibly engraved on their memories.

A thorough investigation into the cause of the blaze on board and the subsequent actions taken will happen as a matter of course.

The South African government wasted no time in making preparations for the repatriation of the foreign victim’s body.

In the meantime, our thoughts go out to the family who must return to Germany, and for those in that country who have lost their loved one.

Spare a thought, too, for the shoreline search parties, and especially the police divers who must enter the deep, cold water in the known presence of hippos and crocodiles.

Theirs is not a job for the fainthearted, and they never know what additional threats they may face during their mission – as illustrated by the shooting of a member by poachers along the lake.

What they and the State Mortuary Services face on a daily basis when dealing with death and disaster is to be valued.