Search and rescue operations continued on Monday for eight missing fishermen who went missing when a chokka boat capsized off Thyspynt, near Cape St Francis over the weekend, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said.
NSRI spokesperson, Craig Lambinon, said on Monday that there was still no sign of the fishermen and the search was continuing.
The vessel Maredon capsized during the early hours of Sunday morning and by Sunday afternoon the search was called off due to bad weather.
During the early hours of Sunday morning, the NSRI St Francis Bay duty crew was activated at 3:30 am following reports of red distress flares reported by Chokka vessels at sea.
“The Chokka fishing vessel Silver Eagle had witnessed the red distress flares at around 03h00 and raised the alarm calling Telkom Maritime Radio Services and MRCC,” said Lambinon.
The Silver Eagle and Megalodon sailed to the scene and the Megalodon managed to recover one survivor from the water.
The Chokka fishing boat Maredon was confirmed to have 16 crew onboard.
The Maredon was found capsized and hard aground at Sunset Rock.
Since the tragic incident one fisherman was recovered and confirmed to be deceased, seven survivors were recovered of which 6 were hospitalised and 8 crew members are still missing.
Police have since opened an inquest docket and SAMSA (South African Maritime Safety Authority) are launching an investigation.
-African News Agency (ANA)
