Pensioner drowns on fishing trip
A DAY out fishing turned to tragedy for a Newcastle pensioner who drowned last week.
Dhaneshwar Badree Ramgoolam’s body was found at the Chelmsford Dam just outside Newcastle last Wednesday.
Ramgoolam, 70, a businessman, left his home in Newcastle in the morning to go fishing.
Nirakasha Singh, his niece, said when he failed to return home by the evening, her family began looking for him.
"We were worried. He normally comes home before 6.30pm. We searched the neighbourhood and then went to the dam. We found his vehicle, a Toyota Hilux, still in the parking area. We looked around the dam and then found what looked like his shirt latched against some rocks."
Singh said they called the park rangers at the dam and police for assistance.
"Police search and rescue arrived and
pulled his body out of the water.
“We believe he might have blacked out and fallen into the water and drowned."
Singh said Ramgoolam was not married and did not have any children.
"Our family is formerly from Dannhauser and we recently moved to Newcastle. My uncle lived with my parents, and he was a father figure to all his nieces and nephews. He started a construction business with my father more than 40 years ago."
She said her uncle always helped the community.
"My uncle and my father donated their father's land to the community of Dannhauser to build a temple. They also helped build the temple. He was a wonderful person, a legend to our family.
"We never imagined we would be starting the New Year with such a tragedy. We had planned to have a family get-together to celebrate the New Year, but instead, we came together to mourn the death of my uncle."
Ramgoolam was cremated at the Newcastle Crematorium on Friday.
Colonel Thembeka Mbele said police had opened an inquest to establish the cause of his death.