Two men assisted after their boat capsizes near Port Alfred

NSRI Port Alfred responded to reports of a capsized boat in the Kowie River Mouth. Two men, wearing life jackets, were rescued by Good Samaritan Kye McGregor. NSRI righted and towed the boat to safety.

At 13h54, Saturday, 18 January, NSRI Port Alfred duty crew were activated following multiple eyewitness reports of a boat capsized in the Kowie River Mouth, with 2 men onboard, now reported to be in the water.

Our NSRI duty crew responded to our NSRI Port Alfred station 11 rescue base where the NSRI rescue craft Lotto Challenger was launched.

NSRI rescue swimmers responded to the shoreline at East Pier.

On arrival on the scene we found the 2 adult male casualties, from the East Rand, Gauteng, being assisted out of the water by local Good Samaritan Kye McGregor, who had waded into the water to assist them to get up onto East Pier.

Both men were wearing life jackets.

It appears that their 14 foot fishing ski-boat capsized in the 2 to 3 meter sea swells, in 15 to 20 knot South Westerly winds, as they were exiting the Kowie River Mouth to go to sea.

NSRI rescue swimmers and NSRI medics medically assessed the 2 men who were found to not be injured.

NSRI crew on our NSRI rescue craft established a towline to their capsized boat, in the river mouth, that we then towed to a sand bank nearby to our NSRI rescue base where the casualty boat was righted.

We towed their boat to a slipway where we assisted the 2 men to recover their boat.

No further assistance was required.

NSRI commend the eyewitnesses for swiftly raising the alarm and we commend Kye McGregor for his assistance helping them out of the water.