Durban - A Durban fisherman has told of how he plunged into the chilly night waters off Battery Beach and battled for 15 minutes to rescue a drowning man.
Unemployed Attie Venter, 35, who relies on fishing for a living, said he had been on the pier below the Blue Waters Hotel late on Saturday when he and others spotted a man playing in the water.
“Myself and other fishermen on the pier scolded him. We told him we are fishing here and it was dangerous to swim at night,” Venter told the Daily News on Tuesday.
He said the man disappeared from sight for about 30 minutes and they continued fishing.
“Suddenly, in the distance on the opposite side of the pier, we could hear screaming. We could see a shadow in the water. We only had a small light strapped around our forehead to help us fish,” said Venter.
The veteran deep-sea fisherman, who moved to Durban three months ago from Saldanha Bay, said the man was screaming frantically.
Struggling to see him in the gloom, the fishermen alerted a security guard who shone his torch from the pier.
Venter, who said he had wanted to be a lifeguard while growing up in Pretoria, did not hesitate.
“When I saw where he was, I stripped down into my black shorts and swam into the sea. The security guard’s torchlight and people on the pier directed me to him.”
He said the water was cold and the current rough, but he pressed on, reaching the man.
“He was panic-stricken and grabbed hold of me. I explained to him to float on his back and that I would help him,” said Venter, who added that the unidentified 31-year-old near-drowning victim was well built and dragging him under the water.
“He then listened to my instructions. He had drifted past the pier and it was very deep.
“It took about 15 minutes to rescue him and bring him ashore,” said Venter, who lives in a flat in Anton Lembede (Smith) Street with his wife, Bernadette, and three children, aged 18 months, 12 and 17.
Meanwhile, another fisherman had alerted security guards on patrol on the beach promenade who called emergency services.
A National Sea Rescue Institute crew scrambled to launch their rescue boat, while NSRI Durban coxswain, Paul Bevis, hurried to the scene.
Bevis said the eThekwini Fire and Rescue Services were there when he arrived.
“They had initiated a visual search from the pier. Witnesses had spotted a man in difficulty in the surf. He could not be spotted in the night sea. Venter ran past me, reporting that he could see the man in the surf. He launched himself into the sea from the shore and swam out,” Bevis said.
Bevis kitted up and went after Venter to assist.
“I could see that Venter had reached the casualty. He was swimming casually towards the beach from about 50m off-shore. I was able to stand in chest-deep water and help guide them to the shore.”
Bevis commended Venter for his quick response.
Daily News