British newlyweds drown off the coast of South Africa while celebrating honeymoon

A newlywed couple were found dead on a beach in South Africa while on their honeymoon after they tied the knot in front of friends and family six days ago
Tragic: The Northern Irish couple were in South Africa to celebrate their honeymoon
PA
Jamie Bullen24 October 2015

A newlywed British couple have drowned off the coast of South Africa just six days after they celebrated their wedding.

John Rodgers, 28 and wife Lynette, 26, of Northern Ireland, died on Friday just after getting into trouble in rough seas in Plettenberg Bay, a popular tourist spot where the couple were spending their honeymoon.

Mr Rodgers was found by a local man in shallow turf on Robberg Beach while his wife was discovered 200 metres away by two women walking on the beach.

Doctors performed CPR on the couple but they were pronounced dead. The deaths were revealed by the National Sea Rescue Institute

They said: "It is suspected that they drowned. Sea conditions were rough with strong rip-currents in the vicinity.

"Police have opened an inquest docket and although no foul play is suspected, the deaths are being investigated."

Tragedy: The newlyeds were found hundreds of yards apart on a beach near Plettenberg Bay
Jay Aremac

A photograph of the wedding shows Mrs Rodgers in her wedding dress gazing adoringly into her husband's eyes.

North Down DUP MLA Gordon Dunne, who knew the couple, said: "I am very shocked and saddened by the tragic news of the death of this young couple on their honeymoon in South Africa.

"This is an absolutely tragedy and my heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family of both the young man and young lady who have sadly passed away. For a tragedy like this to happen days after their wedding during their honeymoon is beyond words.

"There is widespread shock and a real sense of numbness within the local community in Holywood at this time, particularly as the young lady was born in Holywood, attended the local schools in the area, and was from a very well respected family.

"My heart goes out to the grieving families and I trust and pray that the family may know God's help at this tragic time."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the deaths of two British nationals in South Africa on Friday 23 October.

"We are providing assistance to both families at this extremely difficult time."

The couple tied the knot in front of family and friends at the First Presbyterian Church, Holywood, last Saturday.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in