The body of a 36 year-old man, believed to be an Angolan refugee, was airlifted from a boat off St Francis Bay today by an SAAF helicopter.
The man died before St Francis Bay volunteer NSRI crew and their emergency vessel, Spirit of St Francis, could reach the longline fishing boat, Amelia, 46 kms offshore.
Crew on board the Amelia had requested assistance from NSRI and a paramedic.
NSRI St Francis Bay, Station 21, reports they were activated at 8.50 am this morning after the request from Amelia, which was heading to shore with the ill man, suffering from weakness from an unknown cause. The NSRI volunteers were responding to the request when the news came that the man’s condition had deteriorated.
So an SAAF helicopter – a squadron Charlie Flight – was despatched with a paramedic and two NSRI swimmers on board. The copter flew to the fishing boat, where the NSRI crew and the paramedic were winched onto the deck. But the man had already died.
The body was then flown to Port Elizabeth and handed over to the SAP.
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he body was then flown to Port Elizabeth and handed over to the SAP.
