Cedric Brown, NSRI Mykonos duty coxswain station, said: At 16h11, Friday, 15 August, NSRI Mykonos and NSRI St Helena Bay duty crew were activated following eyewitness reports of at least one man clinging onto a capsized boat offshore of Shelly Point, West Coast, and where there was suspected to be people in the water at the capsized boat.
NSRI St Helena Bay duty crew responded to the NSRI St Helena Bay station 44 rescue base and launched the NSRI rescue craft Rotary Onwards while the SA Police Services, Saldanha Bay Traffic Services, West Coast Disaster Risk Management, WC Government Health EMS and West Coast Medical Rescue responded.
Police WPDS (Water Policing and Diving Services) were alerted.
On arrival on the scene, the body of a man was located washed ashore, and he was taken into the care of the Police and paramedics. Sadly, the adult male was declared deceased by paramedics.
During a search, the body of a second man was located in shallow surf near the shoreline, and he was recovered to the shoreline by NSRI rescue swimmers in cooperation with the Police.
Sadly, the adult man was declared deceased by paramedics.
It was determined that three local (believed to all be adult) males, fishermen, had been on a local fishing boat that had capsized.
A civilian man, a Good Samaritan, in a wetsuit, was found in the water searching amongst rocks for the third fisherman who was missing.
An NSRI rescue swimmer was deployed from the NSRI rescue craft and assisted the Good Samaritan searching in the surf zone along the rocky shoreline, where the body of the third fisherman was located and recovered onto the NSRI rescue craft
The body of the man was brought to the shoreline and taken into the care of the Police and paramedics.
Sadly, the man was declared deceased by paramedics.
The bodies of the three deceased men were taken into the care of the Police and the Government Health Forensic Pathology Services.
The circumstances that led to the fishing boat capsizing and the time of the incident are not clear, and the Police are investigating.
Police have opened an Inquest docket.
The eyewitness who raised the alarm, the support of all emergency services and Police on the scene, and the Good Samaritan man who assisted in the recovery of the third fisherman are commended.
Condolences are conveyed to the family and friends of the three deceased fishermen.
