Cape Town – The National Sea Rescue Institute Plettenberg Bay crew had a busy weekend, undertaking rescue operations just off Robberg Point after a tourist from Dubai was injured on board a whale watching vessel, while NSRI crew also took part in exercises to hone their lifesaving skills.
The NSRI said in a statement on Monday that the tourist from Dubai had been on board Ocean Blue Adventures’ whale watching boat, Damara on Friday when the boat ran into difficulty whilst negotiating a wave.
“At 10:25am on Friday August 14, the NSRI Plettenberg Bay duty crew were activated following a request for assistance from Ocean Blue Adventures reporting multiple casualties, on their whale watching boat Damara, with injuries sustained to some passengers after the boat reportedly negotiated a wave, 1 nautical mile off-shore of Robberg Point,” said Sea Rescue spokesperson Craig Lambinon.
He said the sea rescue craft, Leonard Smith, was dispatched to provide assistance to the Damara.
“On arrival at the scene it was found that a passenger from Dubai, a tourist, aged approximately in his early 40’s, had suffered a broken nose, lacerations to his lip, back pain and a fractured left arm,” said Lambinon.
A doctor, who happened to be a passenger aboard the Damara was administering medical assistance to the injured man, he said.
“NSRI medics assisted with treatment, as well as treatment to a number of other passengers complaining of back pain and some suffering from motion sicknesss.”
Medics stabilised and transferred the injured tourist onto the sea rescue craft, as well as two women who had motion sickness. The tourist’s wife, who complained of back pain declined to be transported back to shore on the rescue boat. The Damara transported other passengers who were injured, and medics provided medical attention to them once they reached shore.
Lambinon said on Sunday the NSR Plettenberg Bay crew, together with the Plettenberg Bay Mountain Rescue and WC Government Health EMS teams “conducted a joint rescue exercise to hone [their] joint operating skills in JOC (Joint Operations Command) and in patient extrication techniques and patient care at Robberg Nature Reserve”.
During the exercise, “past rescue operations were re-enacted where difficult rescue extrication of patients were experienced in an effort to increase skills levels,” he said.
Each rescue service shared skills specific to their expertise in patient care, patient extrication and high-angle rope rescue techniques with each other, he added.
ANA