In an unfortunate turn of events, an American man has gone to a watery grave in the midst of an underwater marriage proposal to his girlfriend while on holiday in Tanzania.
The American man from Louisiana, Steven Weber, and his girlfriend, Kenesha Antoine, were staying in a submerged cabin at the Manta Resort, off Pemba Island.
Last Friday (20 Sep), Ms Antoine paid a heartbreaking tribute to Mr Weber as she posted a series of videos and pictures of the two during their “once-in-a-lifetime” trip before it took an unexpected morbid turn.
One of the videos shows Mr Weber diving under water as he proceeds to pop the question to Ms Antoine.
In the video, Mr Weber can be seen pressing a hand-written proposal note against the underwater cabin window as Ms Antoine films from the inside. Her surprise and laughter can be heard in the video.
His note read: “I can‘t hold my breath long enough to tell you everything I love about you. But… everything I love about you, I love more every day!”
“You never got to hear my answer, “Yes! Yes! A million times, yes, I will marry you!!” We never got to embrace and celebrate the beginning of the rest of our lives together, as the best day of our lives turned into the worst, in the cruelest twist of fate imaginable,” she wrote.
She later added, “I know that wherever in the universe Steven’s spirit now resides, that is exactly what he’s doing: giving love and spreading joy and laughter. And knowing him, always quick with an off-color joke, he’s probably entertaining someone with a story about how he royally screwed up that proposal and died while being extra.”
The chief executive of the resort, Matthew Saus, said: “A male guest tragically drowned while free diving alone outside the underwater room. The accident is currently under investigation by the local Zanzibar police authority.”
According to BBC News, Mr Saus stated that his staff responded to a “problem in the water”, but when they arrived “absolutely nothing could be done”.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that the US Department of State confirmed that a US tourist died in Tanzania, but provided no further details.
“We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance,” said a spokesperson from the state department. “We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
