Fisherman’s calmness aids in his rescue
A combined rescue effort by various role players and the police took place after a local fisherman was swept off rocks at The Point, Mossel Bay, on Thursday, 25 April.
According to a statement released by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), multiple eyewitnesses saw the fisherman being swept off the rocks by a wave.
The statement read: “NSRI Mossel Bay rescue swimmers, our NSRI Mossel Bay rescue vehicle, the SA Police Services, SAPS Water Policing and Diving Services (WPDS), Mossel Bay Fire and Rescue Services, WC Government Health EMS rescue squad and ambulance, and Mossel Bay municipal lifeguards responded while the NSRI rescue craft, JetRib Rescue 15 Bravo, was launched.
“On arrival on the scene the fisherman (47) was found in the water, keeping himself afloat by treading water. He had been swept off rocks by a wave during the spring tide while angling.”
According to the deputy station commander of NSRI Mossel Bay, Kelly Fourie, concerned family members were on the shore.
The NSRI statement noted the man was at risk of being harmed on the rocky shoreline if he had tried to swim to shore.
“A police diver, using an NSRI pink rescue buoy, swam to the man and, using the buoy to help the man stay afloat, the diver swam the man further out to sea to beyond the breakers."
The NSRI JetRib rescue craft arrived to take the fisherman and the police diver on board the craft, the NSRI noted.
The NSRI commended the fisherman for staying calm and for staying afloat by treading water until help arrived.
The fisherman was brought to the NSRI Mossel Bay rescue station, where he was reunited with his family and after being medically checked by EMS paramedics, it was deemed he was in a satisfactory condition and he required no further assistance.
The NSRI commended the fisherman for staying calm and for staying afloat by treading water until help arrived.
“We commend the police divers for their quick thinking to get a pink rescue buoy and a police diver to the man as quickly as possible in the surf zone and then swimming him away from danger, contributing to the man's life being saved,” the NSRI stated.
The NSRI also commended the many concerned eyewitnesses for raising the alarm swiftly and the swift response by all involved and the Chaplain Services counsellors, who assisted at the NSRI rescue station.