Umm Muhammed Umar

With the festive season around the corner, safety on boats and rivers, lakes and seas is in the spotlight. Just this past weekend, the National Sea Rescue Institute rescued a woman from being swept out to sea when her little boat capsized in the Swartkops river mouth in the Eastern Cape.

Radio Islam spoke to NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon, who said that it was actually a couple whose boat had been capsized by the wake of another boat as they were trying to return to the shore. The man managed to swim to one of the columns of the Swartkops River bridge, and was rescued off that column. He was unharmed, but the woman was swept out to sea and went missing. The NSRI searched for her for about an hour when they managed to locate her. Lambinon said that had been, “quite a feat of survival, (as) she had been in the water for over two hours, but it’s obviously fantastic that it was a successful operation.” He said that they unfortunately had a drowning over the weekend at Kalkbay, where a man fell off a pedal ski, and is still missing. The search for his body continues.

Lambinon said that the NSRI undertook rescue operations, and were also the primary response in drownings, boating accidents around the South African coastline, and inland waters. The Institute has a presence at the Hartebeespoort Dam, the Vaal Dam and the Witbank Dam. The NSRI assists emergency services in and around Johannesburg, even with flash floods, which Lambinon says happens quite regularly. He said that they were a primary response to water related emergencies.

As the weather improves more people flock to waterways, and so, incidents do increase. Lambinon said that parents must ensure that their children have responsible adult supervision around water. He said, “Even if you’re hanging your washing with a bucket of water at home, unfortunately, sadly, this is often a case where children will fall into that bucket of water and drown.” He added, “And of course your swimming pool at home should have a cloak of safety around it.”

Lambinon said that the NSRI encouraged the public to have the emergency number for Sea Rescue or for the NSRI, which is 112 from a cellphone. This number is apparently the fastest way to reach the NSRI. He said, “Once we are contacted, it’s not only the NSRI that responds, but a host of emergency services that respond with us. Everything from the ability. Ability resources like the air other emergency services as well.” He also encouraged the public to only visit beaches where there are lifeguards, and to swim only within the area demarcated by posts. He added that rip currents were one of the greatest reasons for drownings around the South African coast.

Boating related accidents, according to Lambinon, occur when people don’t have a plan. He said one must wear a lifejacket and must have safety gear available in a floating container, and know how to use it. It would also be prudent to download the free NSRI Safetrx tracks app. He said, “We are already monitoring all the craft in our control room. If you get into a problem, you simply press a button, it tells us that you’ve got an emergency and also gives us your exact location.” He said that this remarkable app takes the ‘search’ out of search and rescue, as they will know the whereabouts of the person/s who need to be rescued.