Update
KNYSNA NEWS - Tragedy struck in the Knysna Estuary last Wednesday, when a man drowned after the canoe he was fishing from capsized.
The man was later revealed to be 21-year-old Knysna local Steven Andrews, and his body was found 21 hours after he went under in the Ashmead Channel.
Andrews, a resident of Kanonkop in Concordia, was an avid fisherman and regularly went fishing on the estuary with the same canoe he was in last week.
However, little did he and his family know that when they went out to Cathy's Park on Wednesday 30 August, things would turn out far differently from ever before. According to a family member's retelling of what happened, Andrews went out on the canoe on his own while the rest of the group remained on the shore.
He hadn't been out for long when at about 15:20 his canoe capsized. Unable to swim, Andrews immediately began treading water.
One man tried to rush out to Andrews to save him, but couldn't make it more than roughly halfway. Another man did manage to reach Andrews, but he himself then became at risk of drowning. Witnessing the crisis, a bystander sounded the alarm and alerted emergency services.
Steven Andrews Photo: Facebook
Initial rescue efforts
Western Cape EMS medics, National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) rescue swimmers and SANParks were on the scene within minutes.
They were able to rescue Andrews' attempted rescuer, pulling him out of the water just in time, but Andrews had already gone under by the time they arrived. The man was transported to hospital, treated and discharged the next day.
However, the search for Andrews was only about to begin. Police divers had arrived on scene and, with the help of the NSRI and SANParks, began combing the area in which Andrews disappeared beneath the surface. What proved to be a challenge for rescuers was that the incident occurred at high tide, which makes it harder to search for a body that has sunk.
Continuing the search
With no sign of Andrews, the search was called off on Wednesday at 18:00 when there simply wasn't enough light to continue.
There was however hope that his body may be found that evening, as it was spring low tide at approximately 21:30. Sadly this didn't happen, and the search was halted once more, and set to resume at 09:00 the next morning, shortly before the next low tide.
Right on cue, police divers were back in action on Thursday morning, 31 August.
That morning the operation was split into various teams. SANParks rangers conducted searches on foot around the water's edge while one team operated a drone piloted by WC Metro EMS from Leisure Isle and another team flew the Knysna Safety and Security Initiative (KSSI) drone piloted by Allsound Security from the paved brick footpath below Costa Sarda. The NSRI crews also launched two of their boats, Katherine and Jaytee IV, one of which was carrying Duran de Villiers, who was piloting an underwater remotely operated vehicle.
NSRI swimmers and police make their way out of the water at the end of the first round of searches on Wednesday.
A final effort
When light rain began to fall on Leisure Isle, they feared that the search would be disrupted as the drones would need to be grounded. However, the Allsound team pushed for one last flight check and this proved to make the difference.
The KSSI drone spotted what they believed to be Andrews' body from above, and a member of the police dive unit made his way to the area where the drone hovered to confirm if it was in fact Andrews' body.
Once confirmation came that it was, efforts began to retrieve Andrews. His body was ultimately retrieved from the water shortly after 13:00 and placed under the care of the WC Forensic Pathology Services. His family confirmed his identity later that day.
Police diving unit members carry Andrews' body back to shore.
The family will be holding a memorial service in honour of Steven Andrews tonight, Thursday 7 September, in Kanonkop. He will be laid to rest with a funeral service this Saturday, 9 September.
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