Durban -Two men drowned in separate incidents in Durban on Sunday, while a 15-year-old boy disappeared in Richards Bay waters near a baptism ritual.
Two more children – believed to be 6 and 7, are fighting for their lives at a Richards Bay hospital after their rescue from a near drowning.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) responded to two emergency rescues on Sunday.
NSRI spokesman, Craig Lambinon, said their Richards Bay crew had responded to an incident involving two children at Pelican Island at about 3pm.
“NSRI Richards Bay rescue swimmers raced to the scene where they found bystanders rescuing a female and a male, believed to be aged approximately 6 and 7, from the water and NSRI rescue swimmers went into the water and assisted to rescue both children.”
He said the children were in critical condition.
Also in Richards Bay, rescue crewson Monday continued the search for a 15-year-old boy who went missing while swimming in the vicinity of a baptism ceremony.
The NSRI responded to reports of a drowning on Sunday but could not find him. They have handed over the search to police. A police search and rescue officer said the search would continue on Monday.
Lambinon said rescue swimmers were called to assist in a drowning in progress one nautical mile north of the Richards Bay lighthouse.
It was not known if the teenager had been taking part in the baptism ceremony there or whether he was swimming nearby, he said.
In Durban on Sunday afternoon, a man drowned at uShaka Beach and another at the uMlazi BB section public pool.
Both men were in their thirties.
Netcare 911 spokesman, Chris Botha, said in the uShaka Beach drowning lifeguards managed to pull the man out of the water and tried to resuscitate him while they waited for paramedics.
“Advanced life support paramedics and ambulance crew arrived at the beach and placed the man on a ventilator and continued with resuscitation. After working fervently for nearly an hour the man was declared dead at the scene.”
“A report from the scene indicates that the man was swimming a length when he sank to the bottom of the pool,” Botha said. Paramedics arrived and found that lifeguards had pulled the man from the water and started CPR.”
He was declared dead 35 minutes later.
Daily News