A British woman has died while two men and a dog were rescued following a yachting incident off the South African East coast.
NSRI spokesperson, Craig Lambinon, said that the woman was the partner of one of the two sailors who were rescued by a bulk carrier on Monday after their yacht was damaged and began taking on water.
He said the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre had asked the bulk carrier to divert to assist the stricken yachtsmen who are from Durban and Cape Town.
The ship's medical staff performed CPR on the woman but Lambinon said, unfortunately, she was declared dead.
He said that the NSRI rescue craft from Durban set-off on Tuesday morning, with a SAPS search and rescue officer and Netcare 911 rescue technician to rendesvous with the vessel about ten nautical miles off-shore to recover the survivors and to retrieve the woman's body.
Her identity has not yet been revealed and at this stage, the exact cause of death is not known.
According to Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst it is believed the yacht left East London harbour on Friday in an easterly direction towards Madagascar.
"On Monday afternoon around three in the afternoon their 48-foot Catamaran was hit by a severe storm and massive surf resulting in a portion of the hull being breached," Herbst said.
"The hull had taken on water partially submerging the vessel when a Malta-registered bulk carrier travelling towards Singapore noticed the vessel in distress, immediately initiating a rescue."
Lambinon said the NSRI expressed its condolences to the family and friends of the deceased while also "commending the crew of the bulk carrier for their efforts."
(Additional reporting - African News Agency)
