Durban — A fisherman escaped drowning when he was airlifted after slipping on rocks while fishing at Cuttings Beach in the Bluff, Durban south.
PT Alarms reported that a local fisherman “was fortunate to have escaped a near-drowning after he slipped on the rocks and broke his leg while also sustaining lacerations during a fishing stint at Cuttings Beach in the vicinity of the Merebank canal”.
“The waves were choppy and the patient had to be swiftly rescued and airlifted to a medical facility for immediate treatment.”
The private security company said the PT Alarms Tactical Unit assisted to cordon off the area for the upliftment of the patient by Netcare 911 while relevant authorities were on the scene.
Meanwhile, last year in an unrelated incident at the same beach, the body of the fisherman who was swept away while trying to cross a canal was recovered by local anglers.
It was reported that the fisherman, 74, had been fishing when he attempted to cross the canal and was swept out to sea. Witnesses reported that they had seen the man drown before he disappeared from sight.
The Cuttings Fishing Forum said: “Body has been found this morning (Tuesday) by the local anglers who went out to search for the body.
“These were some dedicated fishing buddies to the deceased. It was almost a 1km walk back to get telephone reception to notify the search and rescue.”
The forum issued a safety notice to those who crossed the canal.
It said that all those who crossed the canal needed to be very careful because anything could happen and they could get washed out to sea.
“A daily angler, who crosses this canal almost every day, slipped in the canal and got washed out to sea, not found yet,” the forum said.
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