AFTER the first ‘peak’ weekend of the 2017 festive season, the Festive Season Management Committee (Fesmac) has reported the beaches were packed to capacity with minimum glitches experienced. According to Malcolm Canham, acting chairperson of Fesmac, the peak weekend provided an opportunity for all the safety systems put in place to be tested.
“Lifeguards and other law enforcement officers were kept busy throughout the weekend, as people filled up the beaches. The park and ride system was also a big success. All taxis and buses were directed to the Drive-Inn Site and some private vehicles parked at the Centrum Site. This resulted in a free flow of traffic on the beachfront,” said Canham.
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Statistics for the long weekend (15 to 17 December) were as follows at all beaches around the City: At Central beaches about 127 180 patrons were recorded on the beach, the southern region recorded 92 000 patrons and the northern region recorded 16 0000. About 92 rescue operations were carried out and 1542 people received first aid treatment, mostly from blue bottle stings. Around 252 children were separated from their parents/guardians.
A chunk of this number came from the central beaches with 215. They were all reunited, thanks to the 41 103 armbands issued to all children at the beaches. From the Cleansing and Solid Waste Department, 165 staff members worked on a three shift system daily and 980 530 tons of litter was collected. Members of the public are urged to keep the City clean by ensuring that they throw their litter in the bins provided.
On Saturday, 16 December, a 70-year old man died at Winkelspruit beach after he suffered a heart attack while bathing in knee-deep water.
On Monday, 18 December 2017, another man experienced difficulty while on a dive charter 10km into sea. After paramedics attempted to resuscitate him for approximately 15 minutes he was pronounced deceased at the scene. Both incidents have been handed over to SAPS for further investigation.
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