2 KZN teens drown, 1 missing in outing

TWO teenagers drowned and another is missing and presumed to have drowned during a school outing at Margate on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast on Saturday evening, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said.

NSRI Shelly Beach duty crew were activated at 6.20pm following eye-witness reports of a multiple drowning in progress at Margate Beach, spokesman Craig Lambinon said yesterday.

“Lifeguards had completed their duty stand-by for the day and the beach was unmanned by lifeguards at the time of the incident,” he said.

According to witness reports, at least six to nine school pupils were seen to be in difficulty in the surf and bystanders went to their assistance.

It was believed that a group of pupils accompanied by teachers and their principal, from a Pietermaritzburg school, were at the beach on a school outing when the teenagers appeared to get into difficulties in the surf while swimming.

“Bystanders Adriaan and Annamarie Muller, from Wit- bank, on holiday in Margate, were driving in the vicinity when they noticed a group of children in deep water and being swept out to sea towards rocks.

They ran to assist and Adriaan, assisted by other bystanders, was able to pull six children out of the water onto rocks,” Lambinion said.

Two men, believed to be offduty Durban lifeguards, also swam out to assist and were able to pull two girls out of the water.

Once on the beach, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts were started before NSRI, police and paramedics took over and continued with CPR on the two girls, aged 15 and 16.

However, all efforts to resuscitate them were exhausted and they were declared dead on the scene.

A 17-year-old boy was seen floating face down in the water, but despite extensive search efforts the teenager had not been found and he remained missing at sea and was presumed to have drowned, Lambinon said.

The search for him continued yesterday.