Melinda Snyman, NSRI St Lucia station commander, said: At 08h21, Thursday, 1 January, NSRI St Lucia duty crew were activated following reports of a drowning in progress at Jabula Beach, St Lucia.
iSimangaliso Wetland Park lifeguards and multiple eyewitness bystanders had raised the alarm. Lifeguards had entered the water with an NSRI pink rescue buoy to go after 3 casualties who had been swept out to sea in rip currents while swimming.
The NSRI St Lucia rescue craft JetRIB was launched, NSRI rescue swimmers, KZN Government Health EMS and the SA Police Services responded.
On arrival on the scene we found 3 lifeguards in the surf zone had secured 2 of the casualties, an adult male and a young male (believed to be a teenager), and in challenging sea conditions lifeguards were keeping the 2 casualties afloat with the aid of the NSRI pink rescue buoy while continuing to search for a missing teenager (the third casualty).
In heavy breaking sea swells the NSRI rescue craft JetRIB reached them in the surf zone and was able to get the 2 casualties and all 3 lifeguards onboard the rescue craft bringing them safely to the beach while a search continued for the missing 15 year old male.
The 2 rescued casualties were medically assisted on the beach by NSRI medics before being taken into the care of EMS paramedics and both were transported to hospital by EMS ambulance in stable conditions.
The NSRI rescue craft relaunched to join the ongoing search efforts for the missing teenager.
Despite extensive sea and shoreline search efforts there remains no signs of the missing teenager.
Police Search and Rescue are alerted and will continue in ongoing search efforts, assisted by NSRI and by iSimangaliso Wetland Park authorities.
Thoughts and care are with the family and friends of the missing teenager in this difficult time.
Blistered Outlaw
The wonder of a man with a running stomach is that he knows the direction of the door without anybody’s guidance.
Cowboy Booter
Van der Merwe goes to Paris to watch the Boks take on the Brits at the world cup.
Whilst in Paris, he walks around, gaping and staring at everything – so much so that he walks smack bang into a fire hydrant which hits him so hard on the family jewels that he has to be rushed to hospital where the doctors tell him they have to remove his testicles.
Van goes berserk, he bites and snarls at every one and he won\’t let anybody within 10 metres of him. Eventually they find a South African doctor in the hospital and get him to talk to Van.
He walks up to Van and tells him \”Hey Van, die ouens moet jou knaters uithaal.\”
Van replies \”O, okay, ek dog die bliksems wil my test tickets vat.\”