A boat capsized while launching in calm surf conditions during a national fishing competition on Wednesday at St Lucia.
Melinda Snyman, NSRI St Lucia station commander, said:
Just after 06h00, Wednesday, 4 June, NSRI St Lucia duty crew, in attendance at the SADSAA (South African Deep Sea Angling Association) Gamefish Nationals St Lucia 2025, responded after a fishing ski-boat, with 3 crew onboard, capsized in the surf zone while launching in calm sea conditions to go to sea.
The 3 crew, 2 males and a female, adults, from Mpumalanga, and representing Mpumalanga in the fishing competition, were in the water at their capsized boat. One man had briefly been trapped under the capsized boat but had managed to swim free from the entrapment.
An NSRI rescue jet-ski, Rescue 40 Bravo, was immediately launched and arrived on the scene swiftly - where an NSRI rescue swimmer was deployed into the water and secured the female while the rescue jet-ski was able to recover one of the mn onto the jet-ski and took him safely to shore where he was taken into the care of NSRI medics on the beach where treatment for injuries was commenced.
The rescue jet-ski returned to the scene and took the female onboard and brought her safely to the beach. She was taken into the care of NSRI medics and treatment for injuries was commenced.
The rescue jet-ski returned to the scene where the NSRI rescue swimmer had located and secured the second man (the skipper of casualty craft) - they were taken onboard the rescue jet-ski and brought to shore. The casualty skipper was not injured.
Faith Med ambulance services were activated.
NSRI medics transported the 2 injured casualties to the NSRI St Lucia station 40 rescue base where medical treatment was continued, and the 2 patients were then taken into the care of Faith Med paramedics, and they were transported to hospital by Faith Med ambulance in stable conditions.
NSRI St Lucia, assisted by St Lucia Ski-Boat Club members, recovered the casualty ski-boat from shallow surf.
The 2 patients were treated for injuries and observations for non-fatal drowning symptoms in hospital and they were discharged from hospital later the same day in good health.
The SADSAA Gamefish Nationals St Lucia 2025 continued on until Friday without incident.
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