Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille on Sunday sent condolences to the family of a man who died when a boat capsized in Hout Bay.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the deceased and those of the missing victim and injured,” De Lille said.
She also expressed gratitude to the National Sea and Rescue Institute (NSRI) team that responded to the call of saving other passengers of the boat.
“Their courageous acts have helped save the lives of the survivors of this tragedy.”
The NSRI suspended the search for a missing man on Saturday night.
“A search operation for the one remaining missing person, who is a crew member of the charter boat, will resume at first light (on Sunday morning),” NSRI Hout Bay's Brad Geyser.
A charter boat, The Miroshga capsized near Duiker Island at about 3pm on Saturday.
Geyser said that 34 people were rescued and one of the men was declared dead on arrival at Hout Bay NSRI sea rescue station.
Initially the NSRI said that four people died and that 33 or 34 people were on board, but later revised the numbers.
“It was initially unclear the number of people onboard with conflicting reports of between 34 and 50 passengers,” Geyser said.
“It was believed that up to six people were missing and this number was later revised to four people still missing and it was confirmed that 38 people had been on the boat when it capsized.”
It was not known what caused the boat to capsize and the SA Navy and SA Air Force were placed on alert.
When NSRI arrived they found that some people were rescued by two charter boats.
At the time, four people were still missing, three women and one man. A woman, using an air pocket to breath, was rescued from inside the hull of the boat.
“On further investigation, and deeper inside the hull of the upturned boat, police divers came across two females trapped deep inside the hull and who were also using air pockets to breath,” he said.
Both woman are believed to be from the United Kingdom.
“After coaching the females on some emergency dive training, both were successfully brought out by the police divers to safety.”
Geyser said 24 people were hospitalised for further medical treatment and 12 people did not require to be hospitalised and were assessed and treated for hypothermia before they were released.
The man who died is believed to be from the United Kingdom.
“The NSRI are aware of South Africans, United Kingdom citizens and French Citizens who were onboard and are still trying to determine if there were passengers of other nationalities,” Geyser said.
Police have opened an inquest docket, he added. - Sapa