Durban - A search is continuing on Saturday for a spear fisherman suspected to have gone missing at Oslo Beach near Port Shepstone on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said.
"NSRI Shelly Beach duty crew and Med-Evac ambulance services will be in attendance assisting the South African Police Service [SAPS] police search and rescue and police K9 search and rescue in an ongoing search on Saturday," NSRI Shelly Beach station commander Jeremiah Jackson said.
NSRI Shelly Beach duty crew and Med-Evac ambulance services responded just after 5.30pm on Friday afternoon to Oslo Beach to assist SAPS in a search for a spear fisherman reported by eyewitnesses to have not come out of the water while spearfishing off-shore of Oslo Beach and suspected to be missing, he said.
The sea rescue craft Spirit of Dawn was launched, and despite an extensive sea and shoreline search conducted by NSRI Shelly Beach, police search and rescue, police K9 search and rescue, and Medi-Evac ambulance services, no sign was found of the unidentified spear fisherman.
"It appears that eyewitnesses, including other spear fishermen, noticed a spear fisherman who may have been in difficulty before no further sign of the spear fisherman was observed. We believe fellow spear fisherman attempted a search in strong currents and they raised the alarm.
"There remains no formal missing person report related to this incident and as a precaution a search is continuing on the credible eyewitness reports received," Jackson said.
Anyone with information that can assist to identify the spear fisherman suspected to be missing can contact the SAPS or the NSRI emergency operations centre (EOC) on 087-994-9774.
African News Agency