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Cape Town -The search for a fisherman ended in tragedy on Sunday afternoon when his body was found, trapped underneath the same overturned boat that he and his friends had been in, near Gordon's Bay.
National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson, Craig Lambinon said occupants of a private boat had led a search party back to the fishing boat which was drifting off-shore of Macassar and semi-submerged.
"NSRI rescue swimmers were deployed to investigate underneath the upturned hull and the body of the missing fisherman was located trapped in lines," said Lambinon.
"A police dive team assisted by Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services divers were summoned to the scene and they scuba-dived underneath the capsized hull and they freed the trapped body."
On Saturday evening, NSRI rescue officials had headed out to see after spotting a distress flare.
They found three men holding onto the sides of their overturned boat as they also held onto the body of their deceased friend.
The rescued men told rescue workers that they had seen their friend, who was wearing a life jacket, being swept away from the boat and further into the sea.
It was unclear how the man's body had landed back underneath the boat on Sunday afternoon.
Lambinon said there could be several scenarios to explain how the man had landed back at the boat.
He said it was possible that the man had swam back to the overturned boat after his friends had been rescued and later drowned.
The man's body has since been handed to pathology services.
