Notices
The Coastal Water Rescue squad was activated at 14:15 following reports of a drowning in progress in the Swartkops River. On arrival, the squad found that several children had been swimming, and one (15-year-old male) got into trouble and disappeared under the water.
As the location was a fair distance from the vehicles and there was no craft on scene yet, the Ark Inflatables Rescue Croc was used to get the first two swimmers to the scene, with other members proceeding to the scene on foot.
The members did an initial search of the immediate area without any success.
NSRI Station 6 responded with their jet-rib and joined the search.
The SAPS Dive Unit took over the search and performed an extensive underwater search without any success.
The CWR squad was activated to respond to the Swartkops River near the M17 bridge following reports of two fishermen stuck on a sandbank and unable to return. On arrival at approximately 20:10 CWR members joined SAPS SK2 and started looking for the location, but were unable to locate the casualties.
The remaining squad members were standing by ready to deploy the Ark Rescue Croc to assist.
The bank search was continued down towards the M17 bridge.
At about 20:25 further information was received that the casualties possibly made it across. They were found in good spirits, a passing boat saw their predicament and ferried them across the river and they were able to return to the car park on foot.
This afternoon the CWR squad was activated to respond to Sardinia Bay following reports of a drowning in progress.
When the first swimmers arrived at Sardinia Bay car park at about 15:30, it was reported that two children went swimming and were in trouble. On arrival at the actual scene, it was reported that an adult male had also gone into the water to assist both children but then got into trouble himself.
A brave female bystander had already assisted one child back to safety and had suffered cuts from the rocks. At the time, the adult male and the other child were still in the water hanging onto the rocks in the surf breaking zone.
Rescue swimmers from CWR and a rescue swimmer from NSRI reached both and brought them back to safety one by one. The adult male suffered multiple cuts and bruises over his body from being smashed into the rocks. NSRI assisted in driving the casualty over the beach and Sardinia Bay's large sand dune back to the main car park. CWR members assisted with the initial medical care.
The adult male was handed over to Gardmed Ambulance service, who transported him to hospital for further checkups and treatment.
The Coastal Water Rescue squad was activated at 09:51 today following reports of a drowning in progress at North End Lake. Upon arrival, it was found that the incident had been reported late, and that the drowning had occurred between 20:00 and 21:00 the previous night.
SAPS Divers were on scene and prepared to perform an underwater search. After an extensive operation in challenging wind and rain conditions, they recovered the body of an adult male.
Coastal Water Rescue is staffed by volunteers and funded by donations. Can you help us? Please visit https://www.cwrescue.co.za/support-us for more info.
The Coastal Water Rescue squad was activated today at 13:02 following reports of an adult male missing in the surf at Cape Recife.
On arrival, squad members found that a family and a SAPS member had retrieved the casualty from the water. They placed him in the recovery position and requested medical assistance.
An ambulance from Metro EMS arrived on the scene, and CWR squad members assisted using our Stokes basket to move the casualty from the beach to the ambulance. He was showing signs of secondary drowning and was transported to hospital for further treatment.
Coastal Water Rescue is staffed by volunteers and funded by donations. Can you help us? Please visit https://www.cwrescue.co.za/support-us for more info.
The Coastal Water Rescue squad was activated at 02:25am Saturday morning, 15 February 2025, following reports of a drowning in progress in the Swartkops area. The exact location of the incident was initially unknown.
Upon arrival, the first responding squad members met with a SAPS vehicle on the bridge over the canals. Shortly thereafter, further information was received, directing the team to the open canals near the old Swartkops Power Station.
At the scene, squad members joined SAPS divers, EMS Rescue personnel, and an eyewitness. According to information provided, the casualty was last seen in the water near the Swartkops River, within a canal system that runs mostly underground beneath roads and railway lines.
To access the canal, a ladder provided by EMS Rescue was used to safely descend into the canal system. The Coastal Water Rescue squad then deployed the Ark Rescue Croc from the power station side to assist with the search efforts. After an extensive search, the team located the casualty, who was sadly found deceased some distance from the initial sighting. Squad members assisted SAPS divers with the recovery of the body.
Coastal Water Rescue is staffed by volunteers and funded by donations. Can you help us? Please visit https://www.cwrescue.co.za/support-us for more info.
