One rescued, one dead and one missing after boat capsizes in False Bay

One man was found clinging to a flotation buoy on Thursday evening, one was found dead and a third man was missing after a boat capsized deep sea in False Bay, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) has said. 

According to Darren Zimmerman, the NSRI Simonstown station commander, duty crew were notified of the situation by the Transnet National Ports Authority just after 4pm. 

Zimmerman said a navy patrol vessel came upon the 30-foot boat that had capsized and was adrift at sea off-shore of Simonstown, deep-sea in False Bay. The boat had been launched by three men earlier in the day from Kalk Bay harbour. The boat is believed to have capsized at about midday. 

Survivor in a critical condition suffering hypothermia

The sea rescue craft Spirit of Surfski II was launched to join the navy patrol boat searching for the men while the NSRI Kommetjie and NSRI Strandfontein also launched rescue craft. 

Other services responded to join in the search, said Zimmerman, while airborne sea rescue was placed on high alert. 

“During an extensive air, sea and shoreline search, two of the missing men were located at sea clinging onto a floatation buoy at sea and they were recovered onto a sea rescue craft.

Sadly, one of the men was declared deceased and one man was transported to hospital in a critical condition suffering hypothermia. He has been stabilised and is recovering in hospital,” said Zimmerman. 

A police dive unit was searching for the missing man, he said. 

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