
Pictures by NSRI Victoria Lake show NSRI Victoria Lake Swift Water Rescue Team searching the Blesbok Spruit River.
HEIDELBERG:Gerard Potgieter, NSRI Victoria Lake station commander, said:At 13h00, Friday, 06 January, an NSRI Victoria Lake Swift Water Rescue Team were activated following a request for assistance from the SA Police Services who were engaged in an ongoing search for a 56 year old Heidelberg man suspected to be missing in the Blesbok Spruit River, Heidelberg, following the recent flash floods.The man had reportedly not returned home after visiting friends when the flooding raised fears with family that he may have been caught in the flood waters.NSRI rescuers launched 2 kayaks onto the river to join Police in their search efforts while a sea rescue vehicle was dispatched with our crew to search along the river banks but despite an extensive search, from Voortrekker Road to the Ratanda Settlement, no sign of the man was found.Police are also investigating the possibility that the man may not be missing in the river. At 17h00 the search was suspended and Police will continue investigations.


The yellow stars on the Google Map shows the start point and end point of the search.
JEFFREYS BAY:Rieghard Janse van Rensburg, NSRI Jeffreys Bay station commander, said:At 13h39, Friday, 06 January, NSRI Jeffreys Bay duty crew were activated following eye-witness reports of what appeared to be a Hobie Cat capsized off-shore of Kitchens Window Restaurant.We launched the sea rescue craft Project Group Rescuer and found the Hobie-Cat with 2 men, brothers, from East London, believed to be aged in their late 20's, onboard and drifting towards rocks after a mast securing line appears to have snapped causing the Hobie-Cat, Summer Wind, to lose its sail power but it did not capsize.We assisted to tow the Hobie-Cat to the beach without incident and no further assistance was required.
HERMANUS:Deon Langenhoven, NSRI Hermanus station commander, said:At 17h06, Friday, 06 January, NSRI Hermanus duty crew dispatched rescue swimmers to Hardebaai, off-shore of the Onrus caravan park, where two 12 year old boys, from Stellenbosch, had capsized on a double canoe.It appears that their dad let them paddle out into the calm Bay but the lure of doing some wave riding apparently led them to venture a bit deeper to try to catch a wave but they were capsized by a wave.NSRI Hermanus deputy station commander, Jean Le Roux, who lives nearby, arrived on the scene first and he and a bystander launched a double sea-kayak and on reaching the 2 boys both were rescued, about a hundred meters off-shore, and they were brought safely to the beach and their canoe was recovered.They were not injured and no further assistance was required.Then at 19h43 we were activated to respond to a man on a Hobie-Cat reportedly capsized at the Kleinrivier Lagoon but prior to our arrival on the scene eye-witnesses confirmed that the man had managed to get safely to shallow water and he had managed to right his craft and no further assistance was required.
TO REPORT A SEA RESCUE EMERGENCY DIAL 112 FROM A CELLPHONE