CAPE TOWN – Extensive multi-agency search and rescue operations are underway along the South African coastline following two separate drowning incidents over the past couple of days that have left an 18-year-old teenager and a 25-year-old man missing at sea and in a river mouth.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), alongside police divers, emergency medical services, and local authorities, activated response teams in both the Western Cape and Eastern Cape.

Teenager swept away

In Cape Town, emergency services were alerted following reports of a drowning in progress at Glen Beach, adjacent to Camps Bay, at 18:57 on Saturday 3 October.

According to Bevan Geyser, NSRI Bakoven station commander, an 18-year-old man from Mfuleni, Cape Town, was swimming with friends when he encountered difficulties in the water and was swept by strong currents toward Maiden’s Cove.

A friend attempted to swim out to rescue the teenager, but was unable to reach him as a result of the turbulent conditions before the teenager disappeared underwater.

A joint response was immediately coordinated across the City of Cape Town water rescue network as NSRI Bakoven launched the rescue craft Gemini Legend, supported by rescue swimmers from Bakoven (Station 2) and Table Bay (Station 3).

A Metro Police drone unit nearby deployed an aerial drone to track movement in the surf zone and City lifeguards, Law Enforcement, Metro Police, Western Cape Government Health EMS, Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service, and the police searched the coastline.

Despite an extensive air, sea and shoreline effort, no trace of the missing teenager was found on Saturday evening.

Police divers from the Water Policing and Diving Service (WPDS) have taken over the ongoing search operation, and Camps Bay police has opened a formal investigation.

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Search continues in Kromme River

The Cape Town search follows a similar emergency response launched in the Eastern Cape earlier in the week.

At 12:31 on Thursday 1 October duty crews from NSRI St Francis Bay (Station 21) and NSRI Jeffreys Bay (Station 37) were dispatched to the Kromme River mouth near St Francis Bay.

Louwrens Bezuidenhout, NSRI St Francis Bay deputy station commander, reported that a 25-year-old Mozambican national went missing while swimming in the river. Witnesses reported seeing the swimmer get into difficulty before disappearing beneath the surface.

A rescue team was assembled comprising NSRI rescue swimmers, an NSRI Jeffreys Bay jet-ski rescue craft, a local private boat crewed by nearby NSRI members, and a boat supplied by local marine dredging contractors as well as Rapid Emergency Medical Service (REMS), Kouga Municipality Fire and Rescue Services, and police officers.

Despite comprehensive sweeps of the riverbed, sea interface and surrounding banks, the swimmer has still not been found. Police K9 Search and Rescue alongside the WPDS are continuing search efforts in and around the Kromme River mouth, while police carry out a formal inquiry into the disappearance.

The NSRI expressed its deep condolences and support to the missing men’s family, friends and colleagues.