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A man is missing after he swam into the ocean on Friday night to evade traffic police in Ballito, north of Durban.
According to EMS company Medi Response, the man was stopped at a roadblock in the Clarke Bay area.
As he got out of his car, the man ran towards the ocean.
“The man then entered the water and proceeded to cling to rocks,” said Medi Response spokesperson Paul Herbst.
Medi Response rescue personnel then went into the water to bring the man back to shore. He, however, was “uncooperative” and refused to be helped back to the shore.
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According to Medi Response, the man was strong swimmer. He also fought off the rescue attempts of the paramedics.
“He was aggressive in warding off his would-be rescuers, with attempts made to push and hold one of the rescuers under water,” said Herbst.
The man then swan about 500 metres in a southern direction towards Zimbali.
Due to safety concerns, the rescue team abandoned their efforts to get the man out of the sea.
Herbst added that the attending police officers were left in charge of the scene.
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