SWARTKOPS – A coordinated, multi-agency emergency operation unfolded on the N2 at the Swartkops River Bridge on Saturday 16 May, following a dramatic crash in which a vehicle veered off the road, broke through a bridge barrier and plunged into the river below.
The Coastal Water Rescue (CWR) squad was activated at 08:58 on Saturday, 16 May 2026, following urgent reports of a submerged vehicle.
Upon arriving at the scene, rescue teams received information indicating that a single casualty had been ejected from the vehicle during the plunge.
To ensure no other passengers were trapped inside the wreckage, CWR rescue swimmers immediately entered the river to conduct a thorough underwater sweep, successfully confirming that the vehicle was empty.
A complex, steep-slope extrication
While the injured occupant was attended to at the water’s edge by Gardmed Ambulance Service, the extreme terrain next to the bridge presented a significant logistical challenge for getting the patient lifted up to the road.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE RESCUE HERE.
The EMS Rescue team arrived on scene to lead the technical extraction, utilising a specialised Stokes basket to secure the casualty. Because of the steep embankment, responders had to set up a rope-and-pulley system to recover the patient safely.
Gardmed paramedics stabilised the patient at the water’s edge before CWR squad members assisted in carrying the heavy Stokes basket across the rough terrain to the rope system’s launch point.
The EMS Rescue crew then carefully hauled the basket up the steep embankment, after which Gardmed personnel resumed medical treatment and prepared the patient for transport to hospital.
Vehicle recovery operations
Once the casualty was safely evacuated, attention turned to the recovery of the submerged vehicle. Precision Tow-In Services Port Elizabeth was tasked with hoisting the wreckage out of the Swartkops River.
Because conducting vehicle recovery operations in moving water poses high risks to ground crews, CWR squad members remained on the scene.
Rescuers re-entered the water to provide vital safety cover for the Precision Towing staff, protecting them while the vehicle was securely hooked up and hoisted out of the river.
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