NSRI Port Edward: Non-fatal drowning incident at TO Strand

NSRI Port Edward rescues three swimmers caught beyond the backline in strong rip currents and three-metre surf

NSRI Port Edward rescues three swimmers caught beyond the backline in strong rip currents and three-metre surf

Port Edward, 4 July 2026: At 11h44 on Saturday, 4 July, NSRI Port Edward duty crew were activated following multiple eyewitness reports of a drowning in progress at TO Strand, Port Edward.

NSRI Port Edward rescue swimmers and the NSRI Port Edward rescue vehicle responded, while the duty crew made their way to the rescue base to prepare to launch a rescue craft. NSRI Shelly Beach, who were using the NSRI Port Edward JetRIB rescue craft, as standby at a local fishing competition, towed the craft to Glenmore Beach, from where it was launched and responded to TO Strand. Netcare 911 ambulance services also responded.

The casualty group, teenagers and young adults from Gauteng on an annual Voortrekker educational excursion camp in Port Edward, had been swimming and surfing at TO Strand when they were caught in rip currents. NSRI was informed that seven had reached the shore safely and had reportedly not been in any imminent distress. One casualty was reportedly being swept out to sea and was being assisted beyond the backline by two Voortrekker section leaders who were using a surfboard for flotation

Conditions, with strong rip currents and breaking waves of up to three metres, were too rough for an NSRI rescue swimmer on a Malibu rescue board to get through the backline to reach them.  Using the surfboard for floatation, the three casualties stayed afloat until the NSRI rescue craft reached them. In relays of one at a time, all three were brought safely to shore aboard the rescue craft, where they were taken into the care of NSRI medics and Netcare 911 paramedics. All three recovered from exhaustion in the care of the medical teams. The remaining teenagers and young adults, who had made it safely to shore unassisted, were assessed by paramedics and released uninjured.

It is the NSRI's understanding that the three beyond the backline, on noticing NSRI and Netcare 911 personnel arriving on the beach, recalled their water safety training: to stay afloat and swim out beyond the backline to await rescue, rather than risking exhaustion fighting the rip current. This decision kept them safe until the NSRI rescue craft reached them.

Voortrekker camp leaders and officers receive annual water safety awareness training facilitated by NSRI water safety and drowning prevention instructors, the South African Police Service Water Policing and Diving Service (WPDS), and the Lifesaving Academy. Camp leaders brief attendees on water safety each year, and the camp visits NSRI Port Edward annually as part of this programme.

All casualties were released without injury. NSRI has commended the group for the way they responded during the ordeal, particularly for staying with the surfboard as a flotation aid. The annual water safety training received by the youth leaders, their recall of that training under pressure, and the swift response by NSRI, Netcare 911 and the Voortrekker section leaders all contributed to the successful outcome.