[imagesource: Facebook / Kiki Bisogno]
The recent shark attack in Plettenberg Bay, which tragically claimed the life of Kimon “Kiki” Bisogno, was the second fatal attack in the area in the past three months and the third since 2011.
We have covered that incident in enough detail, but it’s tough not to share the words of Diego Milesi, Kiki’s partner of 14 years.
He told YOU that he’s a “little uncomfortable” to talk about what happened “but believes it’s important for him to talk about Kimon because of the person she was”.
The two, along with their two-year-old daughter, Luna, had headed to Plett for a weekend getaway. As has been well documented, Kiki was attacked in what has been described as waist-deep water on Central Beach, in front of the Beacon Island hotel.
During the interview, which took place at Ferdinando’s Pizza restaurant in Observatory, Cape Town, Diego described that fateful morning:
Diego says Kimon was up early that morning and ready to hit the beach.
“She couldn’t wait,” he says. “She asked me if I wanted to come and I said I’d be down soon. She was so beautiful. She was wearing her red swimming costume.
“I gave her this beautiful kiss. And that was the last time I saw her.”
According to Bruce Noble, a member of the Plett Shark Action Committee, the great white was estimated to be between 3,5 and 4 metres long.
It only bit once before releasing Kiki but several arteries had been severed. Noble says, “death would have been very quick.”
Kiki’s cousin, who was on the beach at the time, called Diego. He wanted to rush into the water, but was held back by people on the beach:
“I didn’t see the thing happening which I think is a very good thing,” Diego says. “I wanted to swim out to get her but I couldn’t see her.”
…An NSRI boat retrieved Kimon and the rescue team warned Diego not to look because “I wouldn’t like what I’d see”.
“But I didn’t care, I wanted to be there,” he says. “And when she came out she was so beautiful, despite her injury. She died a quick death. She looked so lovely when they pulled her out and the images of her weren’t horrifying.”
Kiki and Diego were well-known and loved in the local community for their efforts to feed the homeless.
Following her passing, Diego says Kiki has been given the nickname ‘the Queen of Obs’ as a “sign of love and respect”.
He’s trying to keep his head up because he knows it’s what his beloved Kiki would want. “She always had a smile on her face,” Diego says. “She wouldn’t have wanted us to grieve but to celebrate her.”
In a statement released in the days following Kiki’s passing, the Bitou Municipality council outlined its plans to try and prevent anything similar from happening in the future.
It’s been dubbed the Plett Shark Action Plan – you can read more on the three-stage plan here.
[source:you]
