Man swept off harbour wall in Hermanus

2011-06-25 12:33

Johannesburg - A man drowned after he was swept off the harbour wall at Hermanus in the Western Cape, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Saturday.

Spokesperson Craig Lambinon said NSRI volunteers were activated just after midday on Friday.

"According to reports a local whale watching boat crew, who were in the harbour at the time, launched a rubber-duck, after witnessing the man being swept off the harbour wall, and they managed to recover the man from the sea," he said in a statement.

On arrival paramedics tried to resuscitate the man who did not have a pulse and wasn’t breathing. He was later declared dead.

Police would open an inquest docket into the death.

The man was believed to be a local resident aged in his late 30's, but the reason he was on the harbour wall was still unclear.

"The NSRI are appealing to locals and tourists to exercise extreme caution around the coast during winter months. The South African coastline is notorious for big sea swells during winter storms," he said.
 

- SAPA