THE National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) has opened a satellite auxiliary base in uMhlanga to help speed up its response time to maritime emergencies and extend its coverage of the KZN north coast.

The station, which is based on McCausland Crescent, was officially opened a day before the heavy rains that caused extensive damage to properties, infrastructure and led to more than 430 deaths in KZN.

NSRI rescue personnel made use of the base to respond to flood emergencies and assist in several search and rescue operations in the province.

Jonathan Kellerman, NSRI Station Commander at Durban (Station 05) said the new base will allow the NSRI to respond directly in the area and help those in distress.

“At the moment, since we are based out in Durban, during a call out we essentially need to activate the crew, get down to the Durban base and travel north towards uMhlanga. Which can take up to 40 minutes to an hour to get there.

“The crew now have assets that will enable them to respond directly at McCausland Crescent (where the auxiliary base is located), launch the boat from there and be on the scene as soon as possible. As we all know that in a rescue, time is of the essence,” he said.

In addition to the opening of the station, their JetRIB “The Victor Daitz” was also officially unveiled.

“The NSRI was fully welcomed by the lifeguard community within the area as well as the uMhlanga Ski boat club. The location of the base has direct access to the beach, and this means we can launch in under 20 minutes. Our Durban base will now be able to service the bigger call outs such as large tows, assisting with yachts and medical evacuations,” added Kellerman.