Man rescued from the sea

Lyall Pringle, NSRI Hout Bay station commander, said:At 11h08 on Thursday the 14th of September, NSRI Hout Bay duty crew were activated following a request for medical assistance from the local charter boat Bucket List reporting a 55 year old male, from Northern India and on a holiday in South Africa, unconscious and suffering breathing difficulties at Duiker Island, Hout Bay, and being brought to Hout Bay harbour aboard the charter boat from Duiker Island (also known as Seal Island).NSRI Hout Bay medical crew, Sven Gussenhoven, Carmen Long, Cherelle Leong and Dean Morrison responded to our sea rescue base in Hout Bay harbour to receive the patient on the arrival of the charter boat and NSRI Bakoven station commander Bruce Davidson, who was in Hout Bay at the time, also responded to assist and CCP (Community Crime Prevention) K-9 officer Adam Hartree, who is also a paramedic, responded to assist.WC Government Health EMS were alerted and they dispatched an EMS ambulance and Community Medics and CMR (Cape Medical Response) were placed on alert.On the boat Bucket List arriving at the NSRI Hout Bay sea rescue base, a few minutes later, the patient was found to be in a stable condition, alert, and suffering suspected non-fatal drowning symptoms.The patient was taken into our sea rescue base where medical oxygen therapy was applied and he has been transported to hospital in a stable condition by EMS ambulance and he is expected to fully recover.Ian Wells, the skipper of the charter boat Bucket List, and who is also NSRI crew at NSRI Kommetjie, confirmed that he and fellow NSRI Kommetjie crew Mel de Beer and Llandudno Surf Lifesaving lifeguard Archie Songatshu, all off-duty at the time and working on the charter boat Bucket List, had taken a group of tourists snorkelling at Duiker Island on a routine charter.One tourist, the 55 year old North Indian man, had suffered a non-fatal drowning accident shortly after being deployed into the water to snorkel free dive.He was rescued onto the charter boat immediately and found to be unconscious and not breathing and they applied rescue breathing to the patient and were assisted by their fellow charter boat Seal Snorkeling, that was nearby at the time, skippered by their fellow off-duty NSRI Kommetjie coxswain Rob Caine, and the alarm was raised.The patients condition was stabilised by the off-duty NSRI Kommetjie crew and by the off-duty Llandudno lifeguard and spontaneous breathing was restored and the patient was reassured and kept warm while the charter boat transported the patient to the Hout Bay harbour NSRI Hout Bay sea rescue base where they were met by the emergency response team.NSRI commend the actions of all of the crew on both of the charter boats Bucket List and Seal Snorkelling and the swift response of NSRI Hout Bay, NSRI Bakoven, CCP and the EMS ambulance.The patient is recovering in hospital and he is being kept for observation for secondary drowning symptoms as a precaution by hospital staff and his family are with him.