Notice

Beachview - Missing persons

The Coastal Water Rescue squad was activated at 21:12 last night to assist with a search of the Beachview area after reports were received that there were two missing people after their kayak capsized.

Full report from the NSRI below:

At 21h06, Saturday, 22nd December, NSRI Station 6 Port Elizabeth were alerted to reports of a father and son missing in the sea at Beach View.

It appears that the father, 35, his son, 10, from Beach View, and his nephew, 16, from Algoa Park, launched a canoe to go fishing in calm seas at approximately 18h00. Their craft is believed to have capsized at around 19h00 about half a kilometer off-shore and the teenager swam to shore at 20h15 and ran home to raise the alarm.

The missing man’s wife and her sister went to the scene to start a search and they located the canoe washed ashore and they raised the alarm.

The Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Water Rescue Network were activated.

NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew launched the sea rescue craft JLK Rescuer and a sea rescue vehicle, officers from the NMB Beach Office, members of Coastal Water Rescue and the SA Police Services responded.

Local Community Police Forum members joined the search.

Up to 50 people were deployed in this search effort.

Telkom Maritime Radio Services alerted all ships in the area to keep a look out and a Chokka fishing boat came in from fishing grounds and conducted sweeping line search patterns that were joined by the NSRI sea rescue craft with the 2 craft conducting coordinated sweeping line search efforts at sea and an extensive shore patrol was conducted.

The canoe and fishing gear were recovered from the shoreline.

It is believed that they were not wearing life jackets.

Despite an extensive sea and shoreline search along 3 km of coastline and 1 kilometer out to sea no sign of the father and his son has been found and a Police Dive Unit will continue in an ongoing search operation.

Calm sea conditions and a full moon aided an extensive search operation.

The Chokka fishing boat is commended for the extensive search effort assisting NSRI.

Police have opened an investigation and thoughts are with the family in this difficult time.

A Police Dive Unit will continue in an ongoing search and a Police K-9 Search and Rescue Unit, Police Sea Borderline and Coastal Water Rescue are on the scene assisting in a continuing search.