PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Plettenberg Bay National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) volunteers had a successful, yet busy weekend with several rescues along the area’s coastline.
On Sunday 21 January the local NSRI swift water rescue team was activated just before 21:00 following a request for assistance from the Garden Route division of the Mountain Club of South Africa (MSCSA) whose members had been involved in a rescue operation at the time.
Four people were reportedly trapped and missing on the Bloukrans River about 10km upstream from the Bloukrans River Mouth.
The MCSA, Western Cape government emergency services, police and SANParks rangers had earlier been activated to search for the four missing people who were out “kloofing” on the river.
Plett NSRI station commander Marc Rodgers said that a group of six adventure-seekers from the Eastern Cape had gone kloofing and expected to have reached the river mouth within a day.
“The man and a woman, both 60 years old, who raised the alarm were at the Bloukrans weir at the Bloukrans Pass – reportedly only a third of the distance they had expected to cover that day.
"They reported that there were four missing people – three men, in their 60s and 70s, and a 27-year-old woman – from their group.
"They had been left behind as they were unable to keep up with them,” Rogers said.
“The two who raised the alarm – the female wearing only a wet suit and the man wearing only shorts – gave us the impression that they may not have been properly equipped for an adventure of this nature,” he added.
Rodgers said it appeared that their plan had been to drift, swim and float downstream, kloofing along the way.
“But in a thunderstorm and near flood conditions, with rapids and uncertain terrain and barely accessible terrain they had then been separated and it appears that they may not have been prepared for the conditions they were confronted with.
"Some of the missing was reportedly only in short wetsuits, wetsuits and some in only a costume.”
Rodgers said teams of rescue crews – including five MCSA volunteers and two NSRI swift water rescue volunteers – in wetsuits, helmets, headlamps, rescue torpedo buoys and NSRI swift water rescue gear began to wade, swim and negotiate trails to search upstream.
“In very difficult conditions, an electric thunderstorm, heavy rain downpours and barely accessible terrain with the ever present threat of flash floods, the rescue teams slowly made their way upstream.”
During the search the teams found two men and the woman huddled in a make-shift cover.
“They reported that the missing 77-year-old man was too slow for them so they had left him behind to make his own way at his own pace.”
The three were brought to safety downstream while the team continued their search efforts for the remaining missing man.
He was later found huddled by a rock pool and was brought to safety.
Earlier that day deputy station commander Robbie Gibson noticed three young men caught in rip currents near the NSRI base at about 15:30.
“He launched a NSRI Malibu rescue board, recently purchased to be strapped to our rescue vehicles that patrol the beach, and went to their assistance rescuing one of the young men and bringing him safely to shore.”
In the meantime lifeguards arrived and rescued the remaining two young men.
“All three were safe and required no further assistance.”
Just after 13:00 on Saturday 20 January Plett NSRI launched the sea rescue craft Free Runner, Airlink Rescuer and Ray Farnham following reports of a drowning in progress at Milkwood Glen, Keurbooms Beach.
Gibson said rescue swimmers responded directly to the scene.
On arrival a 63-year-old German man was found on the beach and was treated for non-fatal drowning symptoms by NSRI medics and was then transported to hospital by a Medlife ambulance.
“He was in a serious, but stable condition, and he is currently under observation for secondary drowning in hospital and expected to fully recover,” Gibson said.
It appears that the man landed in difficulty in the surf before being rescued by a fellow German man. His wife accompanied him to hospital.
Read a related article: German tourist nearly drowns
ARTICLE: YOLANDÉ STANDER, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD CORRESPONDENT
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