PORT ELIZABETH, January 29 (ANA) – A man has drowned in the sea at Sardinia Bay in Port Elizabeth after apparently being caught in rip currents, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Sunday.
NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew were activated at 4pm by the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) following reports of a drowning in progress at Sardinia Bay Beach, NSRI Port Elizabeth station commander Ian Gray said.
The sea rescue craft Spirit of Surfski IV was towed to Sardinia Bay, a barely accessible beach, and with the assistance of Coastal Water Rescue and fellow emergency services the rescue craft was manually pulled over sand dunes to be launched on the scene, he said.
Lifeguards had already initiated a search for a 22-year-old Zimbabwean man who had disappeared beneath the surf 100 metres off-shore.
“Lifeguards were on duty 100 metres away at a designated safe swimming area, marked by their red and yellow flags, but it appears that the man, who is a student in Port Elizabeth, had gone swimming away from the safe swimming area before being swept out to sea by rip currents and disappearing under water.”
The Eastern Cape government health emergency medical services (EMS) aeromedical helicopter Aeromed 3, Coastal Water Rescue rescue swimmers, NSRI Port Elizabeth with a rescue quad bike, sea rescue craft and rescue swimmers, Sardinia Bay surf lifeguards, EMS, SA Police Service, and the Nelson Mandela Bay beach managers office all responded, Gray said.
During an extensive sea, shore, and air search the body of the missing man was spotted in the surfline 500 metres to the west, but numerous attempts to get the sea rescue craft into the breaking surf area, lined with jagged rocks, were not successful because of heavy breaking surf. Further attempts by Coastal Water Rescue rescue swimmers to reach the body through the breaking surf from the shore were deemed to be unsafe.
After all efforts to recover the body were unsuccessful the rescue operation was suspended at last light and a police dive unit would continue with a search and recovery operation in the morning. Family of the man, who had been at the beach with him and were reportedly visiting from Zimbabwe, were being assisted by police trauma counsellors, Gray said.
– African News Agency (ANA)
