Salmon Bay drowning victim never found

The body of the man who drowned while swimming at Salmon Bay on Sunday afternoon, December 26 has still not been found.

Paul Herbst from IPSS Medical Rescue said the rescue teams will still be doing shoreline patrols, but no more water patrols.

The rescue teams continued to search for the body on the weekend until Tuesday, December 30, launching jet ski’s to search the ocean stretching from Westbrook to Sheffield Beach.

The man and a young boy were swimming on the weekend after Christmas when a member of the public noticed that they were in difficulty.

Herbst said two members of the public then jumped into the water to assist them.

“They got to the young boy and managed to get him to shore,” he said.

“By then the KwaDukuza lifeguards were also on scene, but when they entered the water the man had already disappeared under water,” said Herbst.

IPSS Medical Rescue aquatic team, KwaDukuza Fire Department, Specialised Rescue Unit and SAPS Search and Rescue responded to the drowning.

“IPSS and KwaDukuza lifeguards launched their jet skis within five minutes and were searching for the man for about two hours when the search was called off due to high tides and bad weather,” said Herbst.

He said the search continued until first light the next morning.

“It is important to note that Salmon Bay is not a designated swimming beach and there are no lifeguards on duty,” said Herbst.

He urged the public to only swim at designated swimming beaches where there are always lifeguards on duty.

This story has been corrected.