Incidents at Port Edward, Fish River Mouth, Jeffreys Bay and Kommetjie

PORT EDWARDAlan Stilwell, NSRI Port Edward duty controller, said:At 09h45, Friday, 05th May, NSRI Port Edward duty crew were activated following a request for assistance from Gert du Plessis, one of our NSRI Port Edward coxswains, who while off duty he had gone fishing on his private jet-ski and he was reporting motor mechanical failure off-shore of the Port Edward main beach.The sea rescue craft Wild Coast Sun Rescuer and on arrival on the scene we took Gert and his jet-ski under tow and he was towed to shore without incident and once safely ashore no further assistance was required.JEFFREYS BAY:Ernie Schmidt, NSRI Jeffreys Bay deputy station commander, said:At 10h05, Friday, 05th May, NSRI Jeffreys Bay duty crew were activated following reports from Private Care ambulance services of a drowning in progress at Main Beach, Jeffreys Bay.Our sea rescue quad bike with NSRI rescue swimmers was dispatched and Private Care ambulance services and EC Government Health EMS responded to join Kouga Municipal lifeguards who had also been activated.On arrival on the scene we found 3 swimmers, 2 16 year old teenage boys and a 26 year old man, all from Humansdorp, who after being swept out to sea by rip-currents they had been rescued from the surf by the lifeguards.The 2 teenagers were not injured and they required no medical attention and the adult man was treated for non-fatal drowning symptoms and he has been transported to hospital by EMS ambulance in a stable condition for observation for Secondary drowning and he is expected to make a full recovery.PORT ALFRED:Juan Pretorius, NSRI Port Alfred station commander, said:At 12h50, Friday, 05th May, NSRI Port Alfred duty crew responded in our sea rescue vehicle to Bats Cave at a remote part of the Fish River Mouth near to the Fish River Sun hotel where a fisherman angling from rocks had reportedly fallen down a cliff.The EC Government Health EMS ambulance, EMS rescue squad and their EMS Aeromed rescue helicopter and a Police K-9 unit also responded.On arrival on the scene NSRI and emergency services gained access to the beach through the Fish River Sun hotel and hiked through barely accessible dense bush and over sand dunes to reach the fisherman who was found at the bottom of a 6 meter cliff and in the care of the Police K-9 unit members.Our NSRI medics treated the 49 year old man, from East London, for a fractured right leg (fractured Tibia and Fibula) and on the arrival of paramedics pain medication was administered before the patient was secured onto a Scoop Stretcher and extricated from the cliff to the helicopter which had landed on the beach and the patient has been airlifted to hospital by the EMS Aeromed helicopter in a stable but serious condition and he is expected to make a full recovery.KOMMETJIE:Ian Klopper, NSRI Kommetjie station commander, said: At 13h15, Friday, 05th May, NSRI Kommetjie duty crew were activated following a request for assistance from 2 fisherman on a small open fishing boat reporting motor mechanical failure at Platboom, Cape Point.The sea rescue craft Spirit of the Vines was launched and we rendezvoused with the fishermen off-shore of Scarborough where we found them limping towards the Crayfish Factory Slip-Way under their own motor power after they had managed to get their motors started.We escorted them to the Crayfish Factory Slip-Way where their boat was recovered and no further assistance was required.Photographs of incidents today are posted to the NSRI website FLICKR page for media use.TO REPORT A SEA RESCUE EMERGENCY DIAL 112 FROM A CELLPHONE