A 29-year-old man drowned on Wednesday while trying to save a 13-year-old girl at the Wolfgat Nature Reserve near Khayelitsha.
The NSRI says it appears the teenage girl had been swimming and ran into difficulty when the ocean current drew her further out to sea around 4.30pm.
The man bravely went in to rescue her but also struggled in the surf. Another bystander in his 30s went in to assist, but also got into difficulty.
CoCT Pro Lifesaving lifeguards at Monwabisi Beach had been alerted to the incident by members of the public and they responded. On their arriving on the scene they initiated CPR on the 29-year old man, but he was breathless and pulseless.
“Despite extensive efforts by paramedics to resuscitate the 29-year-old man, sadly he was declared deceased on the scene,” the NSRI’s Vaughn Seconds says.
They administered medical care to the girl, believed to be disabled, and the 30-year-old man.
The two were transported to hospital by EMS ambulance in serious but stable conditions.
The body of the drowned man has been taken into the care of Forensic Pathology Services and police have opened an inquest docket.
Picture: NSRI