Lifeguards, fisherman lauded for rescuing bathers at Durban beach
Lifesaving South Africa has applauded the heroic efforts of lifeguards and local fisherfolk who rescued bathers on beaches in the south of Durban over the weekend.
There has been a spate of incidents along the coast between Amanzimtoti to Park Rynie since Friday.
At least two of them were fatal drownings.
One of the incidents involved a father and his two sons who'd gone for a swim at a non-bathing beach in Amanzimtoti on Saturday.
ALSO READ: Lifesaving SA: More research needed into non-fatal drownings
Local fisherman Jace Govender says he and another angler acted swiftly by casting their sinkers out to the breaker line to pull the 13-year-old boy back to shore.
This while a lifesaver on the scene, Gus Gulhus, swam desperately through the debris and logs in the murky ocean, trying to locate the second child.
"I look up and see and saw another person 200 meters out to sea,” Govender explains.
“I jumped into the water, swam out, recovered him up and brought him back from the beach, and the fisherman then again helped me to pull him back onto the beach because he was quite heavy. He was so tired and exhausted that he couldn't walk out of the water.
"And with the assistance of other resources, we managed to find the other little boy, who is 7 years old and later passed on.”
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