Cape Town man missing after drowning incident at Betty’s Bay

A 24-year-old man from Observatory in Cape Town, is missing after getting into difficulty while swimming at Silver Sands in Betty’s Bay, on Saturday.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said its Kleinmond duty crew was activated at 14:35 on 31 October following reports of a drowning in progress.

Rescue swimmers

Rescue craft Spirit of Surfski and Michele were launched from NSRI Station 42, while rescue swimmers responded by road.

The South African Police Service, including its Water Policing and Diving Services (WPDS), and emergency medical services also attended. The EMS/AMS Skymed rescue helicopter was activated.

An EMS Metro rescue diver and three NSRI rescue swimmers carried out free-diving searches in the surf zone.

No sign of the missing man

Despite an extensive search by air, sea and along the shoreline, there was no sign of the missing man.

Police have opened an investigation. WPDS divers continued searching on Sunday, assisted by NSRI Kleinmond.

NSRI Kleinmond station commander Schalk Boonzaaier said the organisation’s thoughts were with the man’s family and friends.

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