During recent storms pink rescue buoys that were installed at Bloubergstrand’s Kids Rock and Kite Beach washed away.
“These buoys are vital for assisting in saving lives, and we urgently need your help in locating them,” said Rhine Barnes, chair of the Melkbosstrand Neighbourhood Watch.
The pink rescue buoys of Kids Rock were installed just last month.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) installed two pink rescue buoys off Kleinbaai in response to a drowning incident that had occurred there on Tuesday 14 May.
The incident claimed the lives of two men, Pierre Lotter (23) and Willem Pretorius (47) as well as three Dachshund dogs.
The two men, from Kathu in the Northern Cape, and their three dogs had gone fishing at Kids Rock, off-shore of Bloubergstrand, in the vicinity of the Blue Peter Hotel on Tuesday the 14th. Pretorius was found dead in Bloubergstrand, near the Blue Peter, while Lotter and the three dogs were reported missing on the day. Their bodies washed ashore a few days later in Melkbosstrand.
If you spot a pink buoy, return it to the NSRI Station at Melkbosstrand, or call 082 994 7555.
Pink buoys
The NSRI’s Pink Rescue Buoy initiative has been a ground-breaking innovation for Drowning Prevention since 2017, winning the IMRF (International Maritime Rescue Federation) Award for Innovation and Technology in 2018.
Placed strategically on signs at selected inland rivers, dams and at beaches, these bright pink buoys act as a reminder to take care if there are no lifeguards on duty, and that in the event of someone getting into difficulty in the water, they can be used as emergency flotation until help arrives.
Their bright pink colour allows them to be easily seen.
Each Pink Rescue Buoy is housed on a sturdy pole with signage showing how they should be used, as well as the NSRI’s emergency number and the buoy’s unique identification number, which helps rescue services to identify the location of the emergency.
ID numbers and NSRI’s contact telephone numbers are also embossed on the buoys themselves so they can easily be returned to their posts after usage, or if they are lost or stolen.
