Families of submarine tragedy victims seek justice

THE widower of Lieutenant Commander Gillian Hector, who was among three people who died in the submarine tragedy in Kommetjie in 2023, has welcomed the DA's demand to declassify and publicly release the SA Navy's internal investigation report.

- GENEVIEVE SERRA

This comes as the SANDF last night said the re-opened Board of Inquiry (BOI) has been completed and the report is being processed by the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) legal team.

Hector, Warrant Officer William Malesela Mathipa, and Warrant Officer Mokwapa Lucas Mojela were killed during a storm when high waves impacted a vertical transfer exercise involving the South African Air Force Maritime Lynx helicopter and the SA Navy’s submarine SAS Manthatisi in Kommetjie on September 20, 2023.

The submarine was en route to Cape Town when seven crew members were swept out to sea during the incident, of whom four survived.