Several people were injured when a freak wave battered a Marina Beach restaurant near Southbroom yesterday afternoon.

KwaZulu Private Ambulance Service and Mi7 paramedics were dispatched to Marina beach following reports of a mass casualty incident.

Chantelle Botha of Kwazulu Private Ambulance Service (KZPA) told South Coast Herald that paramedics responded to the incident at Mariners Restaurant.

“When emergency services arrived they found that a huge wave had crashed into a restaurant, injuring many patrons and washing one person out to sea.”

Botha said the quick reaction of lifeguards led to the person being rescued from the sea shortly after being washed out.

“Paramedics assessed all the patrons and found five to be seriously injured,” she said.

These patients were treated and stabilised on scene before being transported to the hospital.

The Witness reported that the rescue services said ‘the initial wave was followed by a rising tide, which continued to batter the restaurant’.

“In total, seven patients sustained minor to severe injuries, five of who were taken to hospital by Mi7 medics and their counterparts from another service provider,” the publication stated.

The destruction comes after huge waves wreaked havoc in George Municipality in the Western Cape. The municipality closed all beaches in the area due to the prevalence of spring tide across the coastline. The National Sea Rescue Institute has deemed all beaches unsafe due to high waves and rough water conditions.