Cape Town – One man drowned and another managed to swim to shore after their rubber duck capsized off-shore of Clifton Beach in Cape Town on Sunday morning, the National Sea Rescue Institute said.
NSRI Bakoven duty crew were activated just before 10am following reports of a rubber-duck capsized off-shore of Clifton 1st Beach with two people on board, NSRI Bakoven duty coxswain Mark Thompson said.
NSRI Bakoven launched the sea rescue craft Rotarian Schipper and NSRI Table Bay launched the sea rescue craft Spirit of Vodacom and Spirit of Day and responded to the scene.
The NSRI shore crew and various other services, including a police dive unit, the Western Cape government health emergency medical services (EMS), Life Healthcare paramedics, the NSRI Air Sea Rescue (ASR) and the AMS/EMS Skymed rescue helicopter, and Clifton Surf Lifesaving lifeguards also responded to the scene.
On arrival on the scene the skipper of the rubber-duck was found safe on the beach and not injured and he confirmed that his 34-year-old crewman was missing in the surf after their boat capsized in heavy swells about 200 metres off-shore of Clifton 1st Beach. The skipper had managed to swim to shore and the rubber-duck had washed ashore.
During an extensive air, sea, and shoreline search in heavy swells and breaking surf members of the public spotted the body of the missing man in the surf-line at Clifton 4th Beach.
They were able to secure the body which was then recovered onto the beach where cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts commenced by NSRI members. These efforts were joined by paramedics but the man was eventually declared dead by paramedics.
Police had opened an inquest docket and the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) would investigate the incident.
“It appears that the crew of the rubber-duck may have been on a stand-by for a private Clifton swim after launching earlier at Oceana Power Boat Club (OPBC) before capsizing in the surf-line off-shore of Clifton 1st Beach. NSRI Table Bay are assisting to recover the casualty rubber-duck from the beach and they will tow the boat to OPBC to be recovered,” Thompson said.