Grief of Bonham Carter dynasty over 'appalling tragedy' that claimed four of Helena's family

13 April 2012

Devastated: Helena Bonham Carter


Friends of Oscar-winning actress Helena Bonham Carter have called the safari crash which killed four members of her family an ‘appalling tragedy’.

The horrific accident happened when the family’s minibus veered out of control following a tyre blow-out, rolling over several times in a remote area of the African bush.

Five of the seven family members on board were thrown out of the minibus, which was travelling from Botswana to the Madikwe Game Reserve.

Among the dead were 14-year-old Eton schoolboy Marcus Egerton-Warburton, son of Helena’s cousin, Fiona Bonham Carter, 51.

Marcus’s grandmother Brenda Bonham Carter, 74, his step-grandfather Francis Kirkwood, and his aunt Kay Bonham Carter, 55, also died.

His brother Piers, 16, was recovering in Sunninghill Hospital, Johannesburg, yesterday with whiplash injuries and a fractured left hip.

Fiona and her brother, Graham Bonham Carter, 48, whose wife Kay died, were released after treatment.

It is the second time Graham has narrowly escaped death.In 1991 he survived an IRA litter bin bomb blast which exploded just yards from where he was stranding  in London's Victoria Station.

Tragic: Marcus Egerton-Warburton was, at 14, the youngest to die in the smash. Friends have left tributes on his Facebook page

The couple married only a year ago. Kay was due to celebrate her 55th birthday on September 1.

Eton schoolboy Marcus was a keen sailor who belonged to Bembridge Sailing Club on the Isle of Wight.

His father Charlie, head of UK and Ireland private banking at Credit Suisse, is a prominent member of the club and was previously club captain.

Secretary Mike Samuelson said the club was devastated by the news. 'He was a delightful boy,' he said.

'It's tragic. Marcus had spent two to three weeks here with his father before he went on holiday,' he said. 'He was a keen sailor.'

Last night Piers’s father Charles Egerton-Warburton, who flew from Britain to be at his son’s bedside, said Piers ‘was doing fine’ but declined to comment further.

Tragedy: The bus the family were travelling in flipped over when a tyre burst (file

Tragedy: The bus the family were travelling in flipped over when a tyre burst (file

Tow truck company owner Rudolf Du Plessis, one of the first people on the scene, said it was ‘one of the worst accidents he’d ever seen’.

A close family friend with Mr Egerton-Warburton at the hospital, said: ‘Marcus was a very talented boy who would have succeeded at almost everything he did.’

Fiona and her estranged husband Mr Egerton-Warburton, were said to be ‘in extreme shock’ last night.

It is understood that Fiona’s step-father Mr Kirkwood, 75, was driving the minibus when the blow-out happened and had struggled to regain control of the vehicle.

Grief: Graham Bonham Carter survived but his wife, Kay Boardman, died

Grief: Graham Bonham Carter survived but his wife, Kay Boardman, died

Last night Marcus' friends paid tribute to him on social networking site Facebook.

George Wilders wrote: 'RIP Marcus....xx'. George Whitaker said that he 'is trying and failing to recover will miss u marcie R.I.P'.

Henri Ashe-Taylor wrote that he was 'depressed about marcus. Just cant get over it.' And friend Freddie Wheeler wrote: 'we will always love you'.

Another grieving friend left the message: 'I can't believe. I just can't believe it. One of the nicest guys in Eton. Will always miss you Markie boy. Love you forever.'

At the former south London home of Graham’s mother Fiona a family friend spoke of her grief.

Rome Godwin said she had known Brenda and Francis for 25 years. She said: 'They were lovely, enjoyable people.

‘I am in complete shock. They have moved away now but spend a lot of time in South Africa.’

The Foreign Office said that four people had been killed in a car crash in South Africa.

A spokesman said last night: 'I can confirm that four British nationals have died in a road traffic accident in South Africa on August 20.'

She was unable to confirm any further details.

Helena Bonham-Carter, now 42, shot to fame as a teenager for her portrayal of Lucy Honeychurch in the Merchant Ivory production of  A Room with a View in 1985.

The great grand-daughter of British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, she is best-known for her Oscar-nominated role as Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove and BAFTA-nominated performance in Howard's End.

Keen to branch out from period dramas, she has starred to critical acclaim in Fight Club, Planet of the Apes and most recently the Harry Potter films.

The actress lives with her husband, director Tim Burton in North London, and they have two children, Billy Ray, four, and Nell, eight months.

Ms Bonham Carter’s UK agent could not be contacted yesterday.

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