Two fishermen rescued near Pringle Bay

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) has successfully saved two fishermen who got into difficulty off Macassar, Western Cape.

This came after the emergency operations centre received a report at 10.56am on Wednesday that two men were adrift at sea.

The NSRI then activated a search and rescue operation that led them to Pringle Bay.

“An extensive sea and shoreline search and rescue operation moving in the direction of Kleinmond and beyond was undertaken when eyewitnesses in Pringle Bay saw a 7m rigid inflatable boat with men onboard who appeared to be waving for help and drifting toward the shoreline,” its spokesperson, Craig Lambinon, said.

Their boat washed aground on some rocks and the two men were helped to safety.

Fire and rescue services paramedics and NSRI medics treated the pair on the scene. They were taken to a local clinic, where they were treated for shock and mild hypothermia.

“Where they had washed onto the rocks, the NSRI and the joint emergency services searching for them were approximately half-an-hour behind them, indicating that we would have caught up with them in a relatively short space of time according to our planned and plotted search and rescue grid,” Lambinon said.

The NSRI commend all parties who contributed to the safe return of the pair to their families who “were emotional but delighted with the news of them being found safe”.

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