On January 18, Morgan Lindsay (21) and Yannis Coetzer (21) from Humansdorp were swept out to sea in St Francis Bay but were fortunately reunited following a successful rescue, thanks to the quick thinking of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) St Francis Bay coxswain and his two friends who were fishing nearby.
Sara Smith, NSRI St Francis Bay station commander, said that at about 08:11 on January 18, the NSRI St Francis Bay duty crew was activated following reports of a drowning in progress at Cape St Francis, between Main Beach and Cape St Francis Resort.
She said that Lindsay reported he and his friend Coetzer had been swept out to sea while they were swimming together.
“Morgan had been assisting his friend Yannis offshore beyond the breakers while they were caught in rip currents before Morgan made the difficult decision to retreat to the shoreline to seek help,” said Smith.
“Yannis, we believe, was just too tired in the water to risk following Morgan into the surf zone.”
Smith said that Lindsay reached the shoreline where he located friends of his parents, who were walking on the beach, and he used their phone to call the NSRI to raise the alarm.
She said that at that stage, Coetzer was missing offshore.
Smith further said that while their NSRI duty crew responded to the NSRI St Francis Bay Station 21 rescue base to prepare to launch an NSRI rescue craft, NSRI rescue swimmers responded directly to the scene.In the interim, Priority-Care Ambulance Service was activated.
Smith said that NSRI St Francis Bay coxswain, Louis Fouche, was at sea fishing at the time, nearby, with his friends Barry Culligan and John Lagaay on Culligan’s boat AVRIKITI.
She said that they were about two nautical miles from the scene when the emergency call came in.
“They responded on AVRIKITI and, on reaching the area, following a brief search at 08:17, they located the local casualty, Yannis, in the water at the backline breakers,” said Smith.
“Reaching him, they were able to rescue him onto their boat safely.”
Smith said that he was found to be tired, dehydrated, and showing signs of non-fatal drowning symptoms.
“He had been in the water for about an hour and told the Good Samaritan rescuers that he had simply made all efforts to stay afloat while at the mercy of sea currents that were gradually sweeping him towards the shoreline.
He was unable to follow Morgan to the shore, and he praised his friend for going to get help,” said Smith.
She said that medical treatment was commenced on AVRIKITI while they brought Coetzer to the NSRI St Francis Bay rescue base aboard their boat.
“At our rescue base, the young man was medically assessed by paramedics before being discharged, requiring no further assistance but with the advice to be on alert for further non-fatal drowning symptoms,” said Smith.
Finally, the two friends were reunited, and later they returned to the NSRI St Francis Bay rescue station where they thanked everyone involved for their contribution to saving Coetzer’s life.
