Rescuers are pulling out all the stops in their search for 14 fishermen still missing at sea along a remote Eastern Cape shore, after their boat sank near Cape St Francis on Monday.
The 14 men, most of whom are believed to be from Port Elizabeth, were all said to have put on their life jackets as their craft went down, but would have been in the water for more than 12 hours before the search for them continued at first light on Tuesday.
The Port Elizabeth-based chokka boat, Kingfisher, foundered in what shipping sources have described as "horrible" weather caused by the passing of a cold front yon Monday.
But worse weather is expected which could hamper the seach.
High winds gusting up to 60 knots, and large swells of between five and 10 metres slammed into the coastline on Monday, preventing the NSRI from launching rescue boats.
The Kingfisher, with 19 crew, went down about one-and-a-half nautical miles from the coast in Gibson Bay, near Oyster Bay off Cape St Francis, at about 5:20pm on Monday, said NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon.
Kingfisher's skipper and one crewman managed to reach the shore, while three more crew were plucked from the rough sea by rapidly deployed rescue helicopters.
One of the men picked up by air had to be resuscitated and was admitted to hospital, but the others were not injured, Lambinon said.
The NSRI was alerted after maritime rescue authorities picked up a VHF Mayday call from the Kingfisher, followed by an automatic signal from its Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon.
Attempts by the NSRI St Francis Bay to send a rescue craft to the scene were thwarted by strong gusting winds.
NSRI rescuers instead sent four-wheel drive vehicles to the barely accessible remote area where the ship went down.
At the same time, two BK-117 helicopters from the South African Air Force's 15 Squadron were scrambled from Port Elizabeth, carrying NSRI rescue swimmers.
A fixed wing aircraft from the Air Force's citizen force squadron in the city also sped out, racing against time to carry out a search before darkness fell.
Private Care Ambulance Services, Metro Ambulance and Rescue Services, Disaster Management teams and police were also dispatched.
When maritime radio services relayed the Mayday call, there weren't any craft near enough to the Kingfisher to attempt a rescue, Lambinon said. And the boat was too close to shore for larger ships to approach her.
NSRI rescuers found the skipper and crewman safe on shore. The crewman had swum ashore and was helped out of the rough surf by a local woman, while the master reached the beach on a raft.
The helicopters arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and, despite severe weather conditions, were able to spot three more crew in the water.
NSRI rescue swimmers were dropped into the sea and helped hoist the fishermen to the helicopters.
Today, helicopters and boats have again been launched to continue the search, while shore patrols had continued along the beach throughout the night, said Nigel Campbell of the South African Maritime Safety Authority in Port Elizabeth.
"The weather on Monday was really horrible. We had gusts of up to 60 knots and the sea was very steep with five to 10 metre swells with a very short period," said Campbell.
"We don't know yet why the boat went down. It is too early to tell whether it had struck rocks, but we have appointed a team of investigators."
The Marine and Coastal Management launch Ruth First also arrived in the area around midnight to join the search early on Tuesday.
Worse weather was expected to hit the area from about midday on Tuesday, warned maritime weather monitor Jean-Pierre Arabonis of Ocean Satellite Imaging Systems.
Gale-force winds reaching more than 30 knots were expected offshore between Cape Agulhas and East London, with heavy seas of seven to eight metres between Cape Columbine and East London, he said. The swell would increase to 10m between Cape Point and East London.
Meanwhile, the NSRI at Yzerfontein on Tuesday dashed to help five children swept out to sea in rip-current, Lambinon said.
The children, from Matroosberg, included three sisters aged nine, 10 and 16, their brother aged 12, and a nine-year-old girlfriend, were reportedly in knee deep surf when they were swept off their feet.
When the rescuers arrived at the scene, they found that a boogie-boarder from Moorreesburg, Wilhelm Gerber, 16, had already brought two to the beach. NSRI volunteers then brought the other three to safety.