INLSA

Roland Singh, 58, was stung to death while on Strand Beach in Cape Town. Picture: Supplied

A family day at the beach ended in tragedy when a city grandfather died after being stung by a bluebottle while playing in the water with his granddaughter.

Rylands resident Roland Singh, 58, was at Strand beach on Saturday when he was stung, his future son-in-law, Angus Petersen, said.

“I tried to resuscitate him while they were waiting for the paramedics to arrive, but he just wasn’t responding,” said Petersen, who had been swimming a few metres away from Singh when he heard screams for help.

“He was swimming and playing in the shallow side with his two-year-old granddaughter. The next thing I heard was his son screaming to me to come and help. While I was running towards them, I felt a sharp sting on my right leg, which is still swollen at the moment,” he said.

He said Singh, formerly from Pretoria, had moved to Cape Town four months ago.

Singh’s family, especially his daughter, was not taking the news well, Petersen said.

“We still can’t believe what happened. It is very difficult right now,” he said.

City disaster risk management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said paramedics had tried to resuscitate Singh, but failed.

“It is believed the man suffered severe shock as a result of the sting by the bluebottle.”

Meanwhile, several drownings, including that of a seven-year-old boy, happened over the weekend.

Solomons-Johannes said seven-year-old Regan Apollis of Strand got into difficulty while swimming with friends in the tidal pool at Harmony Park Resort in Strand yesterday. He said members of the public pulled Apollis out, and later, lifeguards and EMS paramedics performed CPR on the boy, but could not save him.

“The family is in a state of shock and arrangements have been made to provide trauma counselling,” he said.

Apollis’s was the second drowning at the tidal pool in as many days. Osbourne de Morne, a 36-year-old man from Elsies River, drowned in the pool on Saturday, said Solomons-Johannes.

A third drowning victim was an unidentified man at Monwabisi Beach yesterday. He was declared dead on the scene.

There have also been some near-drownings.

Yesterday, a 26-year-old man was rescued at Monwabisi Beach. He was admitted to the Khayelitsha Day Hospital for observation.

On Saturday, a nine-year-old boy was rescued from the Sparks Bay tidal pool near Koggel Bay.

Also on Saturday, another nine-year-old boy and his seven-year-old friend were rescued at the Hout Bay beach.

“He (the nine-year-old) was in a stable condition when transported to the Victoria Hospital for further medical treatment and observation, and was accompanied by his mother,” said Solomons-Johannes, who added that the boy’s friend was safe.

National Sea Rescue Institute volunteers in Gordon’s Bay rescued two Durbanville men on Saturday as they were swept out to sea on a small, inflatable boat.

On Friday, lifeguards at Melkbosstrand beach rescued a 19-year-old man near the slipway at the beach. He was later taken to the New Somerset Hospital in Green Point for further medical treatment.

Solomons-Johannes said: “The patient has a history of seizures (epilepsy) that may have caused him to find himself in distress in the water.” - Cape Times

E-mail Barbara: barbara.maregele@inl.co.za