The body of a young American student who had gone missing near Coffee Bay on the Wild Coast, has been found.
The body washed up Friday aftenoon, about five kilometres north of where he had disappeared during a late-night swim on Sunday.
The deceased has been identified as 19-year-old Nicholas Upton, who was an American citizen studying at the University of Cape Town.
His body was spotted by the crew of a private helicopter from Westline Helicopters in East London and will be retrieved by police on Friday.
Upton's parents travelled to South Africa and were at Bulungula Lodge Friday where Nicholas and a group of students had been staying for Spring vacation.
In an official police report, Lieutenant Khaya Tonjeni, said "a body fitting the description of a 19-year-old American University of Cape Town (UCT) student, who drowned on Sunday, has been spotted off the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast."
“The body was spotted 5 km away from the place where the student allegedly went for a swim,” Tonjeni said.
“This breakthrough was achieved through a combined effort by the SAPS Search and Rescue team and a private helicopter. A SAPS [South African Police Service] helicopter has been sent to the scene to help with the recovery and fetching of the body from where it was last seen.”
