Two Cape men have been “miraculously” found at sea, but a third is still missing, after they were tossed from their vessel.
|||Cape Town - Two Cape men have been “miraculously” found at sea, but a third is still missing, after they were tossed from their vessel on Sunday.
On the same day that Cape surfer Brett Archibald returned home from Indonesia - found after 28 hours at sea - the two men were found after four hours floating in the sea off Betty’s Bay. They had drifted about 10km from their boat and were both treated for severe hypothermia.
But their third friend was today still missing and police divers continued the search for him on Monday.
Frederick La Grange, 38, Johannes Singleton, 46, both from Kleinmond, and a third man - not yet named - set out from Kleinmond at 8amon Sunday.
The alarm was raised at 2.47pm when another boat’s skipper, Paul Fourie, reported finding their empty boat going around in circles at full throttle off-shore of Betty’s Bay.
He managed to stop the boat and alerted the NSRI. He also found one cellphone on board, and managed to track down Singleton’s wife.
NSRI Hermanus towed their rigid inflatable sea rescue craft to launch nearby and NSRI Gordon’s Bay sent their own craft from their False Bay station. The Red Cross AMS helicopter Skymed also responded, as did the police, Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services and the provincial government’s emergency medical service.
The NSRI’s Craig Lambinon said today it was crucial for all boat skippers to use “kill switch” cords, and for all to wear life jackets.
Cape Argus