Carefree days on the beach turned into tragedy for some families, with several drownings reported during the festive season.
Police divers are searching for three men who disappeared in the surf over the past few days.
Multiple incidents on 2 January
A 23-year-old man disappeared whilst swimming on Friday, 2 January, at Blue Water Bay in Gqeberha. The young man was swimming with his 19-year-old sister when they were caught in rip currents. According to Simon Williams, NSRI Gqeberha deputy station commander, a local fisherman managed to grab hold of the woman and brought her to safety.
In another incident on the same day, a man and his 13-year-old nephew were also caught in rip currents at Thompsons Beach in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal. A Good Samaritan realised they were in trouble and managed to save the boy. He returned to rescue the man, but the man had disappeared under water. The 40-year-old man was reportedly from Carolina in Mpumalanga.
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Also on Friday, 2 January, rescue teams reacted quickly to reports of two brothers from Dlangezwa, KZN, drowning at Umkomaas. The 16-year-old brother was rescued by a bystander and was not injured. His 21-year-old brother has unfortunately not been found.
Despite several rescue teams joining the search, there were no signs of the men.
According to Craig Lambinon, spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), police divers are continuing the search.
Pink rescue buoys prove effective
In several instances, the NSRI’s pink rescue buoys, placed on some of the popular beaches, enabled beachgoers to react to swimmers in distress immediately.
A teenager from Pietermaritzburg, Dylan Yorke, was thinking on his feet when he saved a man from drowning at Nature’s Valley beach near Plettenberg Bay on Thursday, 1 January.
The NSRI Plettenberg Bay crew reacted to calls for help and arrived in time to see Yorke bringing the 56-year-old man to safety after grabbing one of the pink rescue buoys.
The NSRI medics attended to the man, who was uninjured and required no further medical assistance. They commended Yorke for his brave efforts.
