Marina-tragedy rugby player ‘a force of nature’
A RUGBY club has described a player who died after falling into a South Wales marina as “one of the best in the game”.
Owain Jones, 32, suffered a suspected cardiac arrest when he fell into the water at Penarth Marina on a night out on Friday.
His fiancee Leanne Silvester, 35, went in to save him as the marina was flooded by the storms.
Poignant tributes to Mr Jones have since been left at the scene of the tragedy.
And now his team-mates at Cardiff Saracens RFC have described how they were “stunned” by the devastating news, and how they have been inundated with messages paying tribute to the player.
A spokesman for the club said: “To give you an idea of how well respected Owain was in the club, below are some comments being made by his fellow players – ‘One of the best in the game and a top bloke off the pitch’; ‘an incredible rugby player, try machine and such a great guy’; ‘a force of nature on the pitch and a gent off it’; ‘no matter who we played you felt your chances were that much better when O’s was out there with you’; and ‘A real shock, I always thought he was indestructible.’”
The club’s chairman, Chris Parks, said: “Owain epitomised what a sportsman should be, trained constantly, played the game hard but fair and was a true talisman for the other members of the team. He could have easily played a higher level of rugby, but enjoyed playing rugby with his mates and his beaming smile on a Saturday afternoon will be greatly missed by us all at the club.
“The Saracens would like to pass on their deepest sympathies to his fiancee Leanne and his family and respect the time they’ll need to come to terms with such a loss.”
Mr Jones was taken to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales after being pulled from the water but died shortly afterwards from a cardiac arrest.
His fiancee Leanne was later released from the same hospital following treatment.
Police are now appealing for witnesses to the incident which happened at about 10pm on Friday but say there are no suspicious circumstances.
A spokesperson for the Penarth Coastguard Rescue Team said: “We were tasked to assist with two persons in the water, on arrival at the scene we were met by South Wales Police and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.
“Both casualties were taken out of the water and received treatment from Med Serve Wales, the Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust, including the HART rescue team. Also on the scene was the Rescue 187 Coastguard helicopter.
“The casualty was taken to University Hospital of Wales for further treatment by land ambulance.”
A spokeswoman for the Cardiff coroner’s office said the cause of death was “cardiac arrest after being submerged in water.”
A full inquest is due to be held at a later date.