Red flares aid fishermen’s rescue in South Africa
05/04/2021
After their boat capsized, two fishermen fired red flares, which led to their rescue off the Western Cape, in South Africa.
One morning in March, the men were fishing on the Vlakbank, near Struisbaai, when their five-metre Rigid Inflatable Boat capsized in a surprisingly fierce wave.
The men located their storage poly bottle and raised the alarm using three distress flares. These were seen on land, by members of the public, who contacted the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).
They were also spotted by the crew of the Bennie, a small fishing boat that was in the area, who found the two men and rescued them.
Meanwhile, the Sea Rescue craft, Spirit of Agulhas, was launched and the crew met Bennie about four nautical miles off-shore to transfer the two fishermen.
The men aged 56 and 45, were brought to the NSRI Agulhas sea rescue base where they were medically assessed and were uninjured.
NSRI commend the crew of Bennie and the eye-witnessed who raised the alarm.
The image is courtesy of the NSRI’s Facebook page.
