STRAND, Cape Town – A New Year’s Day outing turned tragic when a 38 year old man from Elsies River drowned at Strand Beach on New Years morning, becoming another casualty in what authorities are calling an alarming surge of drowning incidents during the festive season.
The incident unfolded at about 09:35 when National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Gordon’s Bay rescue crews, stationed at their satellite rescue station at Strand Beach, were approached by a woman reporting a drowning in progress. However, the woman was unable to pinpoint the exact location along the beach where the emergency was taking place.
The alert triggered an immediate multi-agency response. NSRI Gordon’s Bay crews quickly notified City of Cape Town (CoCT) lifeguards stationed at Strand Surf Lifesaving Club, while lifeguards already patrolling the beach launched an extensive search operation.
Within minutes, both CoCT lifeguards and NSRI rescue craft were deployed, with lifeguards swimming directly toward bathers in the swimming zone to conduct a comprehensive search of the area.
Shortly after the search began, rescue crews discovered a man floating lifeless in the water within the designated swimming zone. Lifeguards immediately took the victim to shore and began resuscitation efforts.
But despite all possible efforts to resuscitate the victim, the man was declared dead at the scene.
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