Storms River - The body of a river guide has been recovered from the Storms River in the Tsitsikamma region on the Garden Route in the Eastern Cape after he apparently drowned in the river during a trip with another guide and several guests, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Sunday.
From first light on Sunday morning, NSRI Oyster Bay duty crew assisted the South African Police Service (SAPS), a police dive unit, South African National Parks (SANParks) rangers, and Eastern Cape government health forensic pathology services officials to recover the body of a 31-year-old local man from the Storms River, NSRI Oyster Bay station commander Lodewyk van Rensburg said in a statement.
On Saturday early evening NSRI Plettenberg Bay duty crew and SAPS officers had responded to Storms River Mouth after nine people - two river guides and seven guests - were reported overdue from a paddle down the Storms River on rafts, he said.
On arrival on the scene, they found that eight of the nine people had arrived at the rendezvous location. However, they reported that one of the two river guides had fallen into the water further upriver and was recovered by the group who performed bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts on the man "for an extended period of time but, sadly, the man was not revived".
An operation to recover the body of the deceased man was arranged and took place from first light on Sunday morning.
"The body of the man has been taken into the care of EC government health forensic pathology services and police have opened an inquest docket. Condolences are conveyed to family and friends of the deceased man," Van Rensburg said.
African News Agency (ANA)