The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) has praised two men who helped to save the life of a man who was swept off the Kalk Bay harbour wall by a wave.
Clinton Nyirenda, of Kalk Bay, said he and his friend, Brandon van der Vent, had been fishing on Saturday August 26 when he had landed in the water.
He said he had been quite excited as he had just caught his first fish when the accident happened.
“There was so much going through my mind when I hit the water. My first instinct was to pray as I was underwater and I didn’t know what to do. As I was praying, someone turned me onto my back. It was a pretty hectic experience.”
Mr Van der Vent and another bystander, Junaib Owies, had both jumped into the water to save him.
Mr Owies, a baker at Shoprite in Fish Hoek, said he had gone to visit his cousin who had been fishing.
He said Mr Nyirenda had been walking towards them when the wave had swept him into the water.
“It was just instinct to jump in and help him,” he said.
The current had been “very strong” and it had pulled them both about 100 metres out of the harbour into the sea, he said.
Another swell then pulled them both back into the harbour, where Mr Van der Vent had entered the water with an NSRI pink rescue buoy to assist.
Mr Owies said it had been hard to keep Mr Nyirenda afloat as he could not swim and due to a dislocated shoulder from the fall he could not paddle either.
Eyewitness Marcell Cilliers said Mr Owies had jumped into the water without hesitation.
Ms Cilliers, a swimming instructor, said it could not have been easy for Mr Owies as the current had been very strong.
“The sea and wind were crazy, and within a second of jumping into the water, the current just took them out to sea,” she said.
NSRI’S Simon’s Town station commander Simon McDonnell said that after getting the call at around 4.45pm, they had launched the Donna Nicholas rescue craft while NSRI rescue swimmers, Cape Medical Response (CMR), and the City’s fire department and water rescue network had been activated.
NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said Mr Owies had managed to get out of the water safely while Mr Van der Vent had used the NSRI pink buoy to help keep Mr Nyirenda afloat. Four NSRI rescue swimmers had managed to get the injured Mr Nyirenda onto a floating pallet.
A rescue crane and specialised stretcher were used to extricate him onto the rescue vessel, and CMR took him to hospital.
Mr Lambinon said the rescue brought to 157 the number of people who had been rescued with the help of a pink buoy.
Mr Owies said he had gone to see Mr Nyirenda on Monday, August 28.
“He has been discharged from the hospital and was recovering well. He thanked me for what I did,” he said.
Mr Van der Vent declined to comment.
Mr McDonnell said the Kalk Bay harbour wall was notorious for bystanders being swept off the wall at high tide when seas are rough.
“NSRI appeals to members of the public to stay clear of Kalk Bay harbour wall during high tide when waves noticeably sweep over the harbour wall,” he said.
