The toddler was travelling with her eight-year-old brother and 34-year-old mother in a white Fiat, which plunged down the cliff on Thursday.
THE SEARCH for a missing two-year-old George girl at the notorious Voëlklip lookout point near Herolds Bay continued throughout the weekend.
The toddler was travelling with her eight-year-old brother and 34-year-old mother in a white Fiat, which plunged down the cliff on Thursday.
The brother, who was also in the vehicle, escaped before it crashed.
He sustained minor injuries and managed to walk to a dirt road where he flagged down a passer-by for help. ER24 spokesperson Ineke van Huyssteen said the mother’s body was found the same afternoon.
“When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene shortly after 1pm, they found the boy sitting with the police. Upon further assessment, paramedics found that he had sustained minor injuries.
“He was treated at the scene before being transported to hospital for further medical care,” said Van Huyssteen.
Southern Cape police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said that by Sunday afternoon the girl had not been found. “The search for the child continues. Police divers are currently patrolling the area on land due to challenging conditions at sea.” Pojie said the boy was in his father’s care.
Calls for the road leading to the site, dubbed the “cliff of death”, to be closed or a wall erected intensified at the weekend following a number of deaths in recent years.
Last year, a man in his 40s was killed after his rental vehicle went over the cliff.
His death followed a 50-year-old man’s death in 2019, as well as those of 35-year-old Heidi Scheepers and her two children – six-year-old daughter Cozette and two-year-old Hugo.
In 2016, a 62-year-old man died when his light delivery vehicle went over the cliffs.
The previous year, three Nelson Mandela Bay University students were killed.
George municipality spokesperson Chantel Edwards-Klose said the proclaimed road reserve was bordered by private property on both sides, and provided access to areas of tourism and recreational value.
“The Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW) attended meetings facilitated by the George Municipality to discuss options for improving safety on this road, alternatively closing it to the public. Those present at these engagements were against closing the road.
“The department is aware of the recent incident on this road. The road is deemed safe for motorists if they drive cautiously and obey the road signs,” Edwards-Klose said.
She said that last year additional warning signs were placed along the affected section and the department was in the process of investigating the circumstances around the latest incident
