Search widened for missing Sharks Board crew member
ORS Sea Border Unit members have widened the search for the body of KZN Sharks Board employee, Siyabonga Gabela, who went missing when the boat capsized during shark net maintenance off Newark Beach on Wednesday morning.
Beach patrols, drone searches around the rocks, piers and dolosses, and searches of the shark nets have been carried out in the hopes of locating the body.
The Transnet National Port Authority’s helicopter pilot and crew have also been aiding in the search, each time the chopper takes flight to service vessels.
The SAPS members are now focusing on the stretch of coastline between New Mouth and Nhlabane.
Each day since the tragic incident, Gabela’s family has been gathering at the beach and conducting their own search for their missing loved one.
Apart from local family, friends and colleagues, the entire maritime community is in mourning following the tragedy which saw two lives lost and one missing, presumed drowned, with tributes pouring in from far and wide.
‘Our sincere condolences go to the families who lost men they loved, and we wish a speedy recovery to Eric Buthelezi and S’Qiniseko Ngobese,’ said Wits University marine biologist, Shanan Atkins who is involved in Humpback dolphin research and has much interaction with the
Sharks Board members at Richards Bay.
‘We are filled with admiration and respect for Shakes Hiraman, the NSRI crew, SAPS and all the other heroes who risked their lives to help.
‘This disaster makes us determined to keep pushing for a less dangerous way to protect people from shark attacks.’
She said they fully support MEC Sihle Zikalala’s promise following the tragedy that the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs would invest more in technology that would allow the KZN Sharks Board to provide protection in a more advanced way.
Gabela and his four fellow crewmen were carrying out routine servicing of the shark nets when the tragedy occurred.
Richard Gumede and Mandla Gumede were pronounced dead at the scene while Eric Buthelezi and S’Qiniseko Ngobese remain in a serious but stable condition in hospital.