NSRI Assist Farmer

Louwrens Bezuidenhout, NSRI St Francis Bay deputy station commander, said:

At 19h33, Friday, 18 September, NSRI St Francis Bay duty crew were activated following a request for assistance from a farmer, in Patensie, reporting a truck trapped on a low lying bridge on a farm road across the Gamtoos River, between Patensie and Hankey, Eastern Cape.

NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) were alerted and NSRI Jeffreys Bay duty crew were activated to assist.

The SA Police Service, EC Government Health EMS rescue squad and Smart Security activated to respond.

NSRI St Francis Bay dispatched a private vehicle with NSRI rescue swimmers. NSRI Jeffreys Bay dispatched NSRI rescue swimmers and an NSRI CROC (small floating rescue craft) in an NSRI rescue vehicle.

NSRI Gqeberha, conducting a routine regional exercise at the NSRI Gqeberha station 6 rescue base, dispatched NSRI Gqeberha, NSRI East London and NSRI VSC (Volunteer Support Centre) rescue swimmers (all were at the regional training exercise) in private vehicles and an NSRI rescue vehicle.

Police Search and Rescue – WPDS (Water Policing and Diving Service) were placed on alert.

On arrival on the scene it was found that a truck, that had been en route to collect farmed Citrus at a local farm, had become trapped on a low lying bridge while crossing the Gamtoos River on a farm road. The bridge was swamped from recent heavy rains but also the bridge in question has been swamped from heavy rainfall since May this year, causing the roadway and bridge to be slippery.

When the truck failed to arrive on schedule to collect a load of Citrus fruit the farmer had gone to search for the truck and finding the truck trapped in the river, on the low lying bridge, the alarm was raised.

The male driver of the truck, age 30, who resides in Gqeberha, was trapped in the cab of the truck, not injured but unable to escape due to the fast flowing swollen river rushing at cab height around the truck.

NSRI rescue swimmers established a technical rope pulley system to the truck and in a swift water technical rescue operation, involving rescue swimmers wading through swollen fast flowing water, using anchor ropes, establishing a pulley system with the NSRI CROC, and securing the man into a life-jacket, in a 3 hour swift water technical rescue operation, hampered by the fast flowing swollen river, our rescue swimmers rescued the man bringing him to safety securely on the NSRI CROC.

The man was medically assessed by the EMS paramedics and he was transported to a hospital for further medical evaluation in the care of EMS paramedics and he is expected to make a full recovery.

NSRI rescue crews returned to base at 01h00.

Police are investigating the circumstances of the incident.

A heavy vehicle recovery team are investigating methods to recover the vehicle when the swollen river subsides.

The swift response and the coordinated efforts of the technical swift water rescue operation are commended.