Plett NSRI attends to three near-drownings

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) in Plettenberg Bay attended to at least three people who needed needed treatment for “non-fatal drowning symptoms” on Tuesday (29/12/2015).

The first call came in at 12.40pm‚ when the station was “activated to assist lifeguards and an NSRI Table Bay crewman who was assisting lifeguards between Robberg 5 beach and Solar Beach where the lifeguards had rescued a 20-year-old local man who was caught in rip currents while swimming”.

He was later transported to hospital by ambulance “in a stable condition”.

Just over two hours later‚ the station launched a sea rescue craft “following reports of a local mother and her seven-year-old son rescued by a family on a boat”.

“It appears that the mother and son were swimming around a houseboat at anchor‚ at Poortjies Lagoon by the Keurbooms River‚ when it is believed that currents dragged the seven-year-old under the boat‚” the NSRI said.

“The mother reportedly tried to assist but got into difficulty herself.”

A family – “believed to be ex-residents of Plettenberg Bay - were able to pull both out of the water before calling NSRI for assistance.

Both were treated for non-fatal drowning symptoms on the scene and later “transported to hospital in stable conditions by EMS ambulance for observation for secondary drowning”.

In Port Elizabeth‚ the NSRI duty crew helped bring ashore a 30-year-old Ethiopian crewman who was thought to be suffering from malaria from the container vessel Pacific Queen which was 15 nautical miles offshore.