Maybe you have read the story about the drowning of Bavo Verheyden (21), a Belgian man, in the ocean off  Ntafufu Beach in April 2011. It is on this website. Now the lawsuit which his family filed against the owners of the resort where he and his brother stayed, Khululeka Retreat near Port St Johns, now called Ntafufu Eco Lodge, has ended.

In terms of a R500,000 settlement agreement, which was made a court order in September 2019, Khululeka acknowledged its failure to comply with its legal duty to warn the two brothers of the potential danger of swimming at Ntafufu Beach “where local knowledge is required to identify the risks of, for example, the presence of rip currents". Also, the court ordered the resort must place a sign on Ntafufu beach and on the lodge property warning of the possible presence of rip tides and the danger of swimming in the ocean in the absence of a lifeguard.

A reflection on the case has been made by Ray Hartle, journalist of the Daily Dispatch, on 13 July 2020. Added here you find his news article as well as the settlement made a court order and the more comprehensive article also by Ray Hartle "Beautiful beaches can be treacherous for visiting tourists" published in Daily Life on 28/7/2020.

Here added is also the press release.

(Picture: Ntafufu Beach)