Durban - Five people sailing on a yacht escaped with minor injuries when rough seas slammed into the Durban harbour south pier on Thursday.
Craig Lambinon, the spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), said they had received a call at 1:49am that a yacht had run aground on the southern breakwater and slammed into the dolosse.
Lambinon said two men and three women were on board the yacht. They were sailing to Richards Bay.
Lambinon said it was unclear why they turned around and returned to the Durban port.
In rough sea conditions, the NSRI Durban launched two rescue crafts to the scene along with assistance from police sea borderline and Transnet.
Picture by NSRI Durban.
"On arrival two NSRI rescue swimmers found four people on the dolosse. A woman was trapped between a dolosse and had to be freed by the swimmers. They were transported to the Durban NSRI base where Netcare 911 paramedics were on standby. They suffered minor injuries. They were reunited with their families," Lambinon said.
The owners of the yacht have been contacted said Lambinon and hopefully will assist with salvage operations.