Search still on for man swept out to sea

AUTHORITIES are continuing a search along the Table View coastline for a 23-year-old man who went missing in the surf on Tuesday night.

The man, from Duduza in Johannesburg, was swimming with two friends he had come to visit when he was swept out to sea by a rip current before disappearing under water.

National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesperson Craig Lambinon said an extensive sea and shoreline search revealed no sign of the man.

Police divers and NSRI Melkbosstrand members were assisted by the City of Cape Town fire and rescue dive unit and the Big Bay surf lifeguards in the search.

Lambinon said: “A SAPS helicopter joined the search along the coastline and concentrated further north where the currents are pushing, but there was no sign of the 23-year-old man and an ongoing search operation is continuing.”

It was all hands on deck for police, lifeguards and paramedics on New Year’s Day, with three people declared dead at Cape Town beaches and nine rescued in separate incidents.

German tourist Igor Obu was hailed a hero at Table View Beach when he saved a woman and a 34-year-old Philippi man from drowning.

Lambinon said the woman got into difficulty in rip currents and the 34-yearold man went to assist, but also got into difficulty.

Obu spotted the two struggling and was able to reach the woman and get her out of the water.

“He further used an NSRI Pink Rescue Buoy stationed at Table View Beach on the pole to rescue the 34-year-old from the water,” Lambinon added.

Spectators cheered on the beach, acknowledging the good Samaritan who had risked his life.

A SAPS helicopter joined the search along the coastline further north

Craig Lambinon NSRI spokesperson