Paddlers help save man in Hout Bay

File photo: Henk Kruger

File photo: Henk Kruger

Published Oct 5, 2015

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Cape Town - A man who had a seizure and fell off the breakwater into the sea at Hout Bay harbour had a lucky escape on Sunday morning after he was found barely alive, hanging on to a rope, by two passing paddle-skiers.

The man was released from hospital this morning, said National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesman Craig Lambinon.

NSRI volunteers noticed an unmanned surf-ski floating near the breakwater at 9am on Sunday and decided to investigate, said NSRI Hout Bay deputy station commander Geoff Stephens.

“On arrival, to their surprise, they found two local paddlers, Kit Beaton and Andrew Preen, had abandoned their surf-skis to rescue a man that they had found barely alive in the water,” said Stephens.

“The unmanned surf-ski belonged to one of the men who had leapt into the water to rescue the man.”

He said it appeared that the pair, while paddling out to sea, had come across the man in the water clinging on to a piece of rope at the breakwater. He seemed to be close to losing his grip and drowning.

“The man had fallen off the breakwater into the sea after suffering a seizure. Fully clothed, he had hung onto a piece of rope to save himself from drowning but he was unable to rescue himself or call for help in his post-seizure state. He had been in the water for about half an hour, appearing to be close to succumbing to the elements,” said Stephens.

The two men were trying to rescue the man and raise the alarm when the sea rescue vehicle came upon them.

“The 46-year-old Hout Bay man was brought on to the breakwater where we treated him for hypothermia, near drowning symptoms and for a post-epileptic seizure.”

He said Hout Bay volunteer Emergency Medical Services took him to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Stephens said that anyone standing on the breakwater would have had difficulty seeing the man in the water and it was purely by chance that the two paddlers had come across him.

It was also by chance that NSRI volunteers went to investigate the unmanned, floating surf-ski, which speeded up the emergency treatment the man needed.

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Cape Argus

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