Three swimmers were saved but it would appear that a fourth may have drowned at Kings Beach in Port Elizabeth late yesterday afternoon.
Lifesaving Eastern Cape Regional Chairman David Bamber says the men were caught up in a strong rip current.
Kings Beach lifeguards managed to bring three ashore including a father and son who recovered quickly and then hastily left the beach.
Bamber says lifeguards carried out CPR on the third bather who was then taken to hospital.
After the man regained consciousness, he enquired after a fourth man he said had been swimming with them.
Bamber says NSRI and Coastal Rescue spent about two hours searching for the man but called off their search at about 6-thirty pm.
If, as it seems likely, that the latest drowning did occur, it would bring the number of deaths from drowning to six in the Nelson Mandela Metro in the past two weeks.
Bamber has appealed to members of the public to only swim when lifeguards are on duty and to keep between the flags demarcating safe swimming zones.
