3 rescued after boat capsizes during St Lucia fishing competition

THREE anglers were on Wednesday rescued by the St Lucia NSRI in the surf zone after their ski boat capsized at around 6am.

NSRI St Lucia station commander Melinda Snyman said the vessel capsized while launching in calm sea conditions to go to sea.

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The crew were participating in the SADSAA (South African Deep Sea Angling Association) Gamefish Nationals. The crew – two men and a woman, all from Mpumalanga – were representing their province in the competition.

“One man had briefly been trapped under the capsized boat but had managed to swim free from the entrapment,” said Snyman. NSRI immediately launched rescue jet-ski Rescue 40 Bravo, with an NSRI rescue swimmer deployed into the water.

The swimmer secured the woman, while the rescue jet-ski recovered one of the men onto the craft. He was taken to shore where he was treated for injuries by NSRI medics. The jet-ski returned to collect the woman, who was also treated on scene for injuries, and then returned again for the uninjured skipper.

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The two injured crew members were taken care of by Faith Med paramedics, who transported them to hospital. They were treated and observed for non-fatal drowning symptoms and discharged later that same day.

The capsized vessel was recovered by the NSRI with assistance from the St Lucia Ski Boat Club. The SADSAA Gamefish Nationals continued until Friday without further incident.

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