Patient evacuation in St Francis Bay. Kite boarder assisted - Kommetjie:

ST FRANCIS BAY:Sara Smith, NSRI St Francis Bay station commander, said:At 07h30, Tuesday, 18th October, NSRI St Francis Bay duty crew were activated following a request for medical assistance from the Chokka fishing boat Maluti reporting a crewman onboard, aged approximately 40, from Port Elizabeth, suffering a lower abdominal infection.The Sea Rescue craft Spirit of St Francis II was launched and rendezvoused with the casualty off-shore of Oyster Bay.The man, in a stable condition and walking wounded, was taken aboard our rescue craft and brought to the Port of St Francis and he has been transported to hospital in a stable condition by Private Care ambulance for further treatment.KOMMETJIE:Ian Klopper, NSRI Kommetjie station commander, said:At 12h01, Tuesday, 18th October, NSRI Kommetjie duty crew were activated following eye-witness reports of a kite-boarder in difficulty about a nautical mile off-shore of Kommetjie.Two kite-boarders were sailing off-shore of Kommetjie when one kite boarder lost his kite-sail and he appeared to be trying to paddle towards shore on his kite-board. The second kite-boarder got to shore safely.We dispatched sea rescue swimmers to the beach and NSRI Hout Bay dispatched their sea rescue craft. The private seal snorkeling boat Animal Ocean, manned by two NSRI Kommetjie crew members, at sea at the time in Hout Bay, also responded. CMR (Cape Medical Response) dispatched an ambulance to the scene.On arrival on the scene the kite boarder could be seen 400 meters off-shore and paddling towards shore and waving towards shore and we feared he was in difficulty.The rescue swimmer on scene swam out to the casualty, a local Kommetjie resident, 48 year old Pierre Cimma, and reaching him 200 meters off-shore found him to be paddling well towards shore using his kite-board as floatation and swam with him until we reached the shore safely.He required no further assistance. NSRI Hout Bay searched for his kite and following a brief search his kite was located and recovered at sea and the casualty will arrange to collect the kite at NSRI Hout Bay sea rescue base. The seal snorkeling boat Animal Ocean's crew were commended for responding as back up while the rescue progressed.TO REPORT A SEA RESCUE EMERGENCY DIAL 112 FROM A CELLPHONE