Sarah Smith, NSRI St Francis Bay station commander, said:At14h10, NSRI St Francis Bay duty crew were activated following reports of a fisherman in trouble at Seals Car Park.En route to the scene we found lifeguards also running towards the scene. We picked them up and proceeded to Seals car park where a fisherman had been swept off rocks by a wave. A friend had managed to rescue him and we found him on the rocks. He had reportedly been in the water for at least 15 minutes before being rescued by his friend and he had head, arm and leg lacerations and complaining of pain to his back and suspected non-fatal drowning symptoms.Additional NSRI crew arrived on the scene and we stabilised the fisherman, a 35 year old male, and secured to a trauma board we carried him to the car park where by that stage Private Care ambulance services, the SA Police Services and EC Government Health EMS had arrived and he has been transported to hospital by Private Care ambulance in a stable condition.The unidentified friend who rescued him from the water and all services that responded are commended.
PRINGLE BAY:Alan Meiklejohn, NSRI Gordons Bay station commander, said:At 13h44, Saturday, 09th December, NSRI Gordons Bay, NSRI Hermanus, the SA Police Services, WC Government Health EMS and the Betty’s Bay Neighbourhood Watch volunteers responded to Pringle Bay where a search had been initiated by the family of a 60 year old Cape Town man who had last been seen fishing from the rocks at 09h00 and was confirmed to be missing.Personal items and the man's vehicle remained on site and suspicions are that he may have fallen into the sea.Despite strong winds a search operation was carried out by an 18 strong crew made up of all of the services on the scene and family members who joined in the search. The strong winds and rough seas prevented both a boat search from the sea side and a helicopter search.On Sunday, at 06h00, NSRI Gordons Bay dispatched a crew to continue a shoreline search. Sea rescue craft from NSRI Gordons Bay and NSRI Hermanus that had launched between 06h30 and 07h00 were both prevented from getting to the search area by strong winds and rough seas and they returned to base.The EMS/AMS Skymed rescue helicopter also attempted to reach the search area but the high winds prevented a helicopter search.Despite the extensive shoreline search no sign of the missing man has been found. Local fishermen in the area have volunteered to keep a look out and to alert emergency services if anything is spotted.The SA Police Services and a Police Dive Unit will continue with an ongoing search operation and hopes are for the winds to drop to allow for a more thorough search.Police have opened an investigation.Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the missing man at this time.
DURBAN:Andre Fletcher, NSRI Durban deputy station commander, said:This morning, Sunday, 10th December, NSRI medical crew, Netcare 911 paramedics and the SA Police Services boarded a Mozambican tug boat at Bravo 2 berth in the Port of Durban to treat a Bangladesh sailor suffering from suspected appendicitis and high blood pressure.The 40 year old man has been transported to hospital by Netcare 911 in a stable condition.
MOSSEL BAY:JC Roos, NSRI Mossel Bay deputy station commander, said:At 10h45, Sunday, 10th December, NSRI Mossel Bay duty crew, aboard the sea rescue craft St Blaze Rescuer and accompanied by a Mossel Bay Fire and Rescue Services rescue paramedic, while laying the safe demarcating floatation buoys, off-shore of Santos Beach and Dias Beach, noticed a commotion at Santos Beach and diverted to investigate.On arrival on the scene it was found that lifeguards had rescued a 27 year old Mossel Bay man from the water. It appears that he had suffered a seizure while swimming and lifeguards rescued the man from the surf.The Fire rescue paramedic was deployed from our sea rescue craft to the beach and he initiated medical treatment to the man.Our NSRI rescue vehicle, ER24 ambulance services and By Grace ambulance services were summoned and the man, in a stable condition, has been transported to hospital by a By Grace ambulance.
Emergency Services and NSRI personnel assisted by the public carrying the casualty off the beach to an ambulance.Then at 12h45, we were alerted to a man fallen off his Jet-ski at the harbour wall and in strong winds he appeared to be unable to swim back to his jet-ski. The sea rescue craft St Blaze Rescuer was dispatched and we assisted the 54 year old man, from Gansbaai, to get back to his jet-ski and once back at his jet-ski he continued on his way requiring no further assistance.
ONRUS:Deon Langenhoven, NSRI Hermanus station commander, said:At 15h20, Sunday, 10th December, NSRI Hermanus duty crew were activated following reports of a 3.8 meter rubber-duck with 2 men from Pretoria, aged 49 and 53, capsized at a reef at Hardebaai, off-shore of Onrus.We dispatched the sea rescue craft Jaytee III and our NSRI rescue vehicle, the SA Police Services and WC Government Health EMS responded.On arrival on the scene the sea rescue craft could not reach the capsized boat which had drifted into thick kelp and 4 NSRI rescue swimmers were deployed and both men were safely brought to shore where EMS paramedics medically assessed them and they were released and not injured and they required no further assistance. NSRI recovered their boat.
NSRI NATIONAL WATER SAFETY AWARENESS:NSRI are urging the public to be cautious around all water, coastal and inland waters and swimming pools over this festive season.NSRI are asking parents to make sure their children have responsible adult supervision around all water.We are urging the public to prepare, with a safety conscious mindset, before venturing to the beach, swimming pools, lagoons, lakes, rivers and dams.
Basic Water Safety Tips from the NSRI are: - Children should have responsible adult supervision when in or near water.
- Swim at beaches where and when lifeguards are on duty and swim between their flags.
- Don’t drink alcohol before you swim
- Never swim alone. Swim in groups.
- Swimming pool fences and a child safe pool cover or net is vital at home swimming pools.
- Know how to survive rip currents.
- Don’t attempt a rescue yourself.
- Do not let children use floating objects, toys or tyre tubes at the beach or on dams. as they may cause you to be blown to deep water by winds.
- Do not be distracted by your cell phone.
- Wear lifejackets when you are on a boat
- If your boat has a kill switch always wear it.
- Paddlers and boaters should have NSRI’s free RSA App Safetrx cellphone app dowloaded and used on cell phones.
- Wear bright clothing
- Rock Anglers should wear lifejackets.
- Have local emergency numbers programmed into your phone
- 16. Do not dive into water
