PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - The Plettenberg Bay community have banded together to ensure the presence of lifeguards on the town's main swimming beaches during the school holiday after a series of sea emergencies – including a drowning – occurred over the past weekend.
The beaches are not manned during off-season and lifeguards will only be on duty from 1 November for the summer period.
Plett Watch therefore started a fundraiser drive ensure the presence of lifeguards on the main beaches for the remainder of the school holidays.
"We had a shocking weekend on the beaches without lifeguards. We therefore decided to try and raise funds to pay for lifeguards for this week," Plett Watch's Marius Venter said.
The amount needed was R11 760 for six lifeguards on Central, Robberg and Lookout beaches, at R280 for one lifeguard per day, but by the time of going to print, not only was the whole amount raised, it was almost doubled, at R22 800.
Man loses his life
Meanwhile, Plettenberg Bay NSRI volunteers had their hands full over the past weekend when they had to respond to three emergencies.
Local NSRI station commander Marc Rodgers said they were first called out on Saturday 29 September when reports came through of a boat having capsized late afternoon near the Keurbooms River Mouth.
"On arrival on the scene at Poortjies Beach, we found a canoe with four people on board – two adult men aged 30 and two boys of about eight years old – had capsized. We believe local fishermen were able to rescue all four, who are all from Plettenberg Bay, from the water," Rodgers said.
He added that volunteers immediately started performing CPR on one of the adults while breathing assistance resuscitation was started on one of the children. The other adult and child were treated for shock and nonfatal drowning symptoms.
"All four were transported to hospital, but sadly, after all CPR efforts were exhausted on the adult, he was declared deceased." Police have opened an inquest docket.
More incidents
Shortly before the rescue, NSRI crew who were at the boat club next to the NSRI base on Central Beach, noticed a commotion in the surf.
Rodgers said NSRI coxswain Dan Meiring ran to the NSRI sea rescue base, grabbed a Malibu rescue board and launched into the surf where he found two teenagers – one 18 and the other 16 years old – caught in rip currents.
Meiring used the board to keep the two teenagers afloat.
"Additional NSRI rescue swimmers launched into the surf and assisted Dan to get the teenagers safely to the beach."
Rodgers said the teenagers were released after medically checked and no further assistance was required.
At about 14:35 the next day, volunteers responded to reports of a drowning in progress on Robberg Beach near the Beacon Island Hotel."
Rodgers explained that a 25-year-old local man who had been caught in a rip current was found on the beach.
Local resident Andrew Olifant (65) waded into the shallow surf where the man had been washed to by the current and managed to assist the man out of the water. He was transported to hospital in a stable condition for further treatment."
'We bring you the latest Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route news'
