It was a busy weekend for the National Sea Rescue Institute’s (NSRI) West Coast teams, which assisted in two very different rescues.
In Lamberts Bay the team was alerted to an emergency around 11:26 Friday. According to Avril Mocke, NSRI Lamberts Bay station commander, a whale was alive and appeared to have sustained lacerations possibly from drifting over rocks before beaching.
The West Coast Marine Animal Stranding Network, an organisation that helps marine life in distress, was alerted.
NSRI rescue swimmers swam the whale out to sea in an effort to release it back into the ocean. At first the team thought the whale would survive, but it beached again a short while later.
Transnet National Ports Authority’s Port Control was alerted to the situation.
Mocke said the Department of Environment attended the scene with the police. “The whale was humanely euthanised and the whale carcass removed by the authorities,” he said. “The effort by all involved to try to save the whale is commended.”
In Saldanha the team stationed at Mykonos helped a surf-skier after activating an emergency on the NSRI SafeTrx smart phone application.
NSRI Mykonos duty crew were activated at 16:26 after one of five paddlers, a local man, activated an emergency distress using the NSRI SafeTrx emergency app, acccording to station commander Nic Stevens.
The position of the emergency was given as North West of The Candle in Saldanha Bay.
The NSRI rescue craft Spirit of East London II was launched and NSRI rendezvoused with the casualty, where an experienced paddler was standing by at his location.
The casualty paddler, whose craft had earlier capsized, was rescued by the NSRI rescue craft and suffered hypothermia. He was brought to shore at Yacht Port, the small craft harbour, in the Bay.
A West Coast Medical Rescue ambulance had been activated and the patient was transported to hospital.
The four remaining paddlers were tracked until they reached Langebaan Yacht Club safely and the casualties’ surf-ski was recovered. Stevens commended the paddlers for using the NSRI SafeTrx smart phone application.
Mykonos NSRI can be reached on 082 990 5966, Lamberts Bay on 060 960 3027, Yzerfontein on 082 990 5974 or download the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) – RSA SafeTrx App on your smartphone.
