The NSRI in Durban rallied to the assistance of a sinking craft yesterday, 2 January, while their counterpart in Strandfontein responded to flares going off.
Details of these call-outs are as follows:
STATION 05 Durban:
At 9.55 pm Durban NSRI duty crew were called out by Durban’s Port Control for a craft that was reported to be sinking in the harbour near the Sugar Terminal in the Turning Basin Area. The SAPS Waterwing had already been called to assess the situation and were with the boat.
According to Durban station commander Clifford Ireland, the owner of the boat, a four metre ski boat named Yaallahu, had packed up from fishing in the bay and was making his way from the Sugar Terminal back to the Point Yacht Club slipway when he was swamped by a wave and then blown towards the centre sand bank.
He called Durban Port Control via cell phone who sent the SAPS Waterwing to investigate. They found the boat semi-submerged on the sand bank and attempted to pull it free.
It was pulled into the middle of the channel where it started to sink. Both casualties, local Durban men 46 and 57 years old, got onto the SAPS vessel.
The Sea Rescue boat Megan II was launched at 10.30 pm and found the craft “Hook Up” had attached a line to the casualty but were forced to cut it when the vessel sank.
At midnight the NSRI volunteers dropped an anchor and marking rope in the area that the vessel sank so that the position could be located this morning ( 03 December 2013).
The NSRI volunteers closed the Sea Rescue base at 1.15 am.
The Harbour Master has closed the Maydon Wharf Channel and will send the floating crane and Transnet divers at first light to try and remove the boat from the channel.
STATION 16 Strandfontein:
At 8.34 pm yesterday NSRI Strandfontein duty crew were called out for flares fired in the Macassar area.
The rescue boat Spirit of Grandwest was prepared and station commander Mario Fredericks drove to the area to assess the situation.
Mario was told by fishermen at Monwabisi that flares and fireworks were fired from the beach between Monwabisi and Macassar. This correlated what members of the public who were at Macassar said and the NSRI Strandfontein volunteers stood down at 9.50 pm.
(edited)
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