Louisiana Man Drowns During Underwater Proposal At Island Resort

A Louisiana man’s romantic underwater marriage proposal to his girlfriend ended in tragedy when he reportedly drowned while popping the question at an East Africa island resort.

Steven Weber and Kenesha Antoine were staying in a partially submerged cabin at Tanzania’s Manta Resort, off Pemba Island, when he swam to their underwater bedroom window with a waterproof proposal note on Thursday but, at some point, ran out of oxygen, the BBC and CNN reported.

Video taken by Antoine and shared on Facebook shows Weber paddling outside of the window while pressing the two-sided note against the glass for her to read from inside. The letter asked Antoine if she would marry him but Weber, who swam with just a snorkeling mask and fins, never heard her answer.

“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!” his note read. “Will you please be my WIFE. Marry me???”

“You never emerged from those depths, so you never got to hear my answer,” Antoine wrote on Facebook. ”‘Yes! Yes! A million times, yes, I will marry you!!’”

A spokesperson for the resort told the BBC that Weber “tragically drowned while free diving alone outside the underwater room” on Thursday. “Everyone is shaken to the core,” they added.

The U.S. Department of State confirmed to Baton Rouge station WBRZ that a U.S. tourist had died in Tanzania though no other details were provided. WBRZ also reported that an investigation into Weber’s death is underway.

The couple had reportedly booked four nights at the resort’s secluded underwater room, which rents for $1,700 per night, according to the resort’s website.

Another video shared by Antoine shows the couple laughing while exploring their luxurious home-away-from-home and marveling at the fish swimming against the bedroom window and the pristine coastline from the top of their deck.

“I will try to take solace in the fact that we enjoyed the most amazing bucket list experiences these past few days, and that we both were so happy and absolutely giddy with excitement in our final moments together,” Antoine wrote. “I will find you and marry you in the next lifetime, and the next, and the next, and the next... I love you so much, and I always will.”