By Theolin Tembo 
27m ago
Cape Town – The search for a man continues off-shore of Hout Bay after the NSRI began its extensive search on Sunday.
Hout Bay station commander Geoff Stevens said NSRI Hout Bay and NSRI Kommetjie units were called in just before 8pm, after witness reports of red distress flares were spotted out at sea between The Sentinel and Chapman’s Peak.
“A search is continuing 5 nautical miles off-shore of Hout Bay where a local adult male, the skipper of a local ski-boat, remains missing despite an extensive search by NSRI Hout Bay, NSRI Kommetjie and local fishing boats on Sunday night,” Stevens said.
“At the same time reports were received of a boat collision. NSRI Hout Bay and NSRI Kommetjie dispatched sea rescue craft and, on arrival on the scene, it was found that two boats had collided.
“It appears that one boat may have been stationary in the water without navigational lights being displayed but this remains unconfirmed.”
The station commander said the SAPS, Law Enforcement, provincial EMS, Life Healthcare response paramedics and ER24 ambulance services were activated.
Sea rescue vehicles from NSRI Hout Bay and from NSRI Kommetjie were dispatched to the shoreline to help with communications.
Stevens said the sequence of events remained unclear but it appeared that there were four crew members on one of the boats. After the collision, they went overboard as did two crew members of the second boat went overboard.
“Five men were rescued by one of the boats that was involved in the collision and one man, aged in his late thirties, the skipper of the stationary boat, was unaccounted for.
“Local fishing boats, Fish Keeper, Cap Tuner II and Fish Tails, that were in the area at the time, went to their aid and two of the casualties were transported to shore by one of the local fishing boats which returned to the scene and then transported the remaining three casualties and an NSRI paramedic to the shore,” he said.
One of the men was transported to hospital by EMS ambulance. His condition was stable.
Three sea rescue craft and the crew of the fishing boats have been searching for the missing man.
The two boats that collided with each other were brought to Hout Bay harbour. Both sustained significant damage.
A Police Dive Unit and Police Sea Borderline Control joined NSRI Hout Bay in the search this morning.
“NSRI commend the local fishing community who assisted on the scene on Sunday night. Our thoughts are with the family of the missing man in this difficult time,” Stevens said.
Cape Argus
Credit IOL