SEA RESCUE – Hout Bay and Plettenberg Bay – Sunday, 04th October. Man rescued, Hout Bay. Teenager taken to hospital following near drowning, Plettenberg bay:
HOUT BAY:
Geoff Stephens, NSRI Hout Bay deputy station commander, said:
'At around 09h15, Sunday, 04th October, NSRI Hout Bay’s sea rescue vehicle was returning to the sea rescue base in Hout Bay harbour following a routine stand-by at a local event when the NSRI volunteers noticed an unmanned surf-ski floating near to the Hout Bay harbour breakwater and they decided to go over to investigate.
'On arrival, to their surprise, they found two local paddlers, Kit Beaton and Andrew Preen, had abandoned their surf-ski’s to rescue a man that they had found barely alive in the water (The unmanned surf-ski seen floating on the water belonged to one of the men who had abandoned his surf-ski to leap into the water to rescue the man).
'It appears that the two paddlers, while launching to go out to sea for a paddle on their surf-ski’s, they had happened upon a man in the water clinging onto a piece of rope at the breakwater and appearing to be drowning.
'The man had fallen off the breakwater into the sea after suffering a seizure. Fully clothed he had hung onto a piece of rope to save himself from drowning but he was unable to rescue himself or call for help in his post seizure state and he had been in the water for about half an hour appearing to be close to succumbing to the elements.
'Kit and Andrew were busy rescuing the man and raising the alarm when the sea rescue vehicle happened upon them.
'The 46 year old Hout Bay man was brought onto the breakwater where we treated him for hypothermia, near drowning symptoms and for a post epileptic seizure.
'Hout Bay volunteer EMS (Emergency Medical Services) were summoned to the scene and the man has been transported to hospital in a serious but stable condition in the Hout Bay volunteer EMS ambulance and the man is expected to make a full recovery.
'Anyone standing on the breakwater would most likely not have been able to see the man in the water and it was by chance that the two paddlers had come across him that led to him being saved and also by chance that the sea rescue vehicle went to investigate the surf-ski floating unmanned on the water which speeded up the urgent emergency medical treatment that the man desperately needed.'
PLETTENBERG BAY:
Deon Truter, NSRI Plettenberg Bay station commander, said:
At 16h05, Sunday, 04th October, NSRI Plettenberg Bay volunteer sea rescue duty crew were activated following reports of a drowning in progress at Central Beach, Plettenberg Bay.
WC Government Health EMS and MedLife ambulance services also responded.
On arrival on the scene a female teenager, estimated to be aged about 14 y/o, was found already on the beach and suffering near drowning symptoms. It was not established how she got out of the water but it is believed that she had been caught in rip currents leading to a near drowning incident.
The teenager was treated for near drowning symptoms and transported to hospital in a stable condition by MedLife ambulance.
File picture: Station 14, Plettenberg Bay.
-ENDS-
