The fishing boat that ran aground on Robben Island has broken up on the rocks, the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said.
|||Cape Town - The fishing boat that ran aground on Robben Island early on Tuesday morning has broken up on the rocks, the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said.
“(Our team) found that the vessel had broken up into pieces because it was a wooden boat and it ran aground on rocks,” said Samsa principal officer in Cape Town Gustav Louw.
“I have instructed them to take some things that were on the boat and bring them to the surface, above sea level.”
Louw said the weather conditions in Cape Town were bad.
“It's raining, there is stormy weather and wind etc. We're going to wait for the weather to improve, then collect the rest and make a fire on the island to burn what is left of the boat.”
The boat's 12 crew were rescued after the boat ran aground on the south-western side of the island earlier on Tuesday.
“They were transported to Robben Island's Murray Bay harbour and treatment for hypothermia and shock was commenced,” National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Craig Lambinon said.
All 12 are men aged between 18 and 52, Lambinon said.
“It appears that the vessel lost motor power and they were drifting ashore in stormy seas with five to six metre breaking swells,” Lambinon said.
“The situation intensified when it became clear that the vessel was hard aground on rocks... casualty crew had no further choice and they began to abandon ship under their captain's instruction.”
Rescue operations ended at 5.17am.
Sapa