Rough seas don’t faze NSRI volunteers in rescue operation off Port Shepstone
The medical rescue operation took place in extremely challenging sea conditions.
Two sailors are recovering in hospital after they were injured at sea, some 19 nautical miles off-shore, east of Port Shepstone last Sunday.
NSRI Shelly Beach duty crew were activated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre’s reporting of two sailors injured onboard a bulk carrier motor vessel.
Melodie Herrmann, NSRI Shelly Beach duty controller, said it appeared that while working on the life boat onboard the motor vessel, the life raft deployed unexpectedly, plunging into the sea, injuring a mechanic who was in the life raft.
The crew onboard were unable to reach the life raft in the water.
NSRI Rocky Bay and NSRI Port Edward were placed on alert.
The NSRI rescue craft Spirit of Dawn was launched, together with a Med-Evac rescue paramedic, who is a crew member of NSRI Shelly Beach.
On launching at Shelly Beach sea conditions were two to 2.5 metre swells.
On arrival on the scene, in five to six metre swells, NSRI rescue swimmers were deployed into the water and they boarded the life boat.
Herrmann said the critically injured mechanic, believed to be aged in his 50s, was extricated from the life boat and brought onboard the NSRI rescue craft.
A second seaman, whose cause of injuries remains unknown, was found to be in a critical condition with trauma injuries.
Both men were taken care of by the paramedics and transported to hospital once ashore.
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