Four divers were rescued by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) yesterday after they had been separated from the boat they had come in on – and found 2.5km from their dive site and 1.5km from the shore.
Clifford Ireland, NSRI Durban station commander, said the incident in which four divers had dived from Aliwal Shoal had been reported at 10.15am.
“The skipper of the dive charter boat, which is from Umkomaas Dive Supply, lost sight of the dive marker buoy and activated NSRI Durban and his dive charter company to raise the alarm while initiating a search himself,” he said.
Ireland said Durban sent volunteers with a private rigid inflatable boat while Transnet National Ports Authority and Police Search and Rescue contributed their helicopters and Netcare911 lent its medical expertise.
Before the helicopters’ and NSRI’s arrival, the boat from African Dive Adventures found the four divers using their flotation devices to swim towards the shore.
Ireland commended the skipper for not hesitating in reporting the emergency. Daily News