A BOUQUET of flowers and a cross have been left on a beach in South Africa in memory of a newly-wed couple from Northern Ireland who drowned while on their honeymoon in the country.
Lynette Rodgers, an NHS physiotherapist from Holywood, Co Down, and her husband, John, from Ballygowan, had only been married six days when they tragically drowned while swimming at Plettenberg Bay on Friday.
It is believed the 26-year-old bride and 28-year-old groom got caught in a rip tide.
They were discovered washed up on the beach and attempts were made by the National Sea Rescue Initiative to resuscitate them, but they were declared dead by the team doctor.
At 11am local time on Thursday, flowers, resembling Lynette Rodgers' bridal bouquet, were left on Robberg Beach, Plettenberg Bay, near Cape Town, in memory of her and John, a University of Ulster engineering graduate who worked for Calvert Office Equipment in Belfast.
A cross was also left at the scene.
Among those who attended the ceremony were honorary British Consul in the Eastern Cape, Jackie Barclay, and the local tourism safety and support officer, Ilze Jacobs.
Several members of the local National Sea Rescue Initiative also attended to pay their respects.
Memory Booysen, executive mayor of Bitou, which takes in the Plettenberg Bay area, offered his condolences.
"On behalf of the whole political leadership, administration and indeed the Plettenberg Bay community, we wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased," he said.
The couple's devastated families are hoping to receive the couple's bodies home to Northern Ireland in the coming days.
A book of condolence in memory of the couple has been opened in Holywood Library and Ards Arts Centre. The couple had married in Holywood just days before their tragic deaths.
