Don’t drink alcohol and swim

Bathers, boaters, paddlers, sailors, anglers and coastal hikers are encouraged to be cautious around the coastline and on inland waterways and on coastal hiking trails.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) urged everyone to adopt a safety conscious approach to swimming, boating, paddling and sailing.

* Motorists and pedestrians must not to try to cross rivers, swollen or flooded by storms, including low lying vehicle bridges submerged underwater.
* Swim at beaches protected by lifeguards along the coastline
* Inland water users are also urged to be cautious, as there has been an increase in emergencies.
* Bathers must not drink alcohol and then go swimming.
* Around the coastline rip currents appear to remain the greatest cause of bathers getting into difficulty in the surf.

Craig Lambinon from NSRI said this festive season, on evaluation, appears to indicate that fatal drowning incidents around the coastline may have mostly occurred at beaches not protected by lifeguards.

He said the NSRI pink rescue buoys, stationed around South Africa on coastal and near inland waters, at some rivers and dams, are proving, beyond any doubt, their value to aid bathers who get into difficulty.

To date, NSRI pink rescue buoys are now responsible for contributing to 177 lives saved (known), since the inception of the programme in late 2017. All water rescues have been successful and no harm has come to any of the rescuers who have used an NSRI pink rescue buoy, to help someone in distress and in danger of drowning.

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