A man and a teenage boy have died in two separate coastal incidents in Hermanus and Plettenberg Bay on Thursday, with the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) involved in both responses. In the first incident, a man, believed to be 27 years old, died after reportedly being swept off rocks by waves near Schulphoek in Hermanus, Western Cape. NSRI Hermanus coxswain Jean le Roux said duty crews were activated at about 2:40pm following reports of a person floating face down in the sea offshore of Schulphoek.
“NSRI rescue swimmers, the South African Police Service, Overstrand Law Enforcement officers and CMC ambulance services responded directly to the scene, while NSRI rescue craft were launched,” Le Roux said. The man was recovered from the water onto an NSRI rescue craft and brought to the NSRI Hermanus rescue base. “Paramedics sadly declared the man deceased,” Le Roux said.
The man’s body was taken into the care of police and the Western Cape Government Health Forensic Pathology Services. Police have opened an inquest docket. Earlier the same day, a 16-year-old boy from Cape Town died after falling from a cliff into the sea at Nature’s Valley, Bull Se Baai, in the Garden Route National Park.
Read Full Article on The Witness
[paywall]
NSRI Plettenberg Bay deputy station commander Ross Badenhorst said duty crews were activated at 10:47am following eyewitness reports of a male who had fallen from a cliff while hiking. “On arrival, a search commenced for the teenager, who had fallen from a height into the sea and was reported missing,” Badenhorst said.
[/paywall]
