A newly acquired helicopter of the South African Police Service (SAPS) has helped to locate two bodies that were found floating in the Swartkops River in Gqeberha.
The bodies were found when the crew of the Airbus H125 helicopter, based at the Air Wing in Gqeberha, was familiarising itself with the new aircraft and were called to provide aerial support in an ongoing search and recovery operation on Monday.
This as the search and recovery effort to find a 17-year-old boy had begun on Friday.
“The allegation is that on Friday, 10 October 2025 [at] around 10am, friends were swimming in the Swartkops River, when Curtis Samson (17), got into trouble and disappeared into the water. “
The SAPS Search and Rescue team from K9 Unit was activated and other stakeholders assisted in the operation.
“The operation continued over the weekend, with scheduled stops during sunset.Moments, after the activation of the chopper, the crew spotted two bodies floating in separate areas of the river. The first body was identified as Curtis Samson. The second body was an African male and is yet to be identified. Police divers retrieved the two bodies,” said Eastern Cape police.
The police have opened two separate inquest dockets for further investigation. -SAnews.govza
