A British woman who shipped her boyfriend's suitcase to him in South Africa was shocked to find his belongings had turned up on a beach two miles from her home after a cargo ship was grounded nearby, the Daily Telegraph reported Saturday. Marilyne Simony's boyfriend, Kobus Pretorius, moved back to Pretoria after his visa expired and she paid 140 pounds (212 euros, 274 dollars) for his books, clothes and photographs to be sent to him.
But six weeks later, after the MSC Napoli spilt dozens of containers off the south-west coast of England, a colleague of Simony spotted a framed photograph of the couple in pictures of debris on Branscombe beach, the paper said.
The suitcase would have been shipped from Simony's home in Sidmouth, Devon to Antwerp, Belgium, where it was loaded on to the ship, before ending up back in Devon — a journey of about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres), the Times newspaper reported.
Simony has not been able to recover the suitcase and has now appealed for its return.
The beach became a magnet for beachcombers and the media this week as looters made off with everything from BMW motorbikes to nappies from the ship's containers.
"It is crazy and weird that this suitcase went so far and ended up back on my doorstep," Simony told the Telegraph.
The 62,000-tonne Napoli was grounded on the World Heritage coastal site a week ago during a tow from mid-channel to Portland, Dorset, because of fears she would sink.
The ship's hull had been damaged in a storm and her 26-member crew were rescued by helicopter after they abandoned ship.
