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- An incredible show of skill and kindness saved the life of a fisherman who had been injured after a rock fell on him.
- The operation involved another fisherman, a car guard, search-and-rescue specialists and paramedics who stayed at sea with the man overnight.
- He was airlifted to hospital for treatment the following morning.
It took a determined car guard, rescuers swimming through perilous sea swells, and an overnight stay among the rocks to rescue a fisherman pinned under a rock at Noetzie beach in the southern Cape.
National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesperson Craig Lambinon said it began with the injured fisherman holding on to a rock to steady himself on Saturday afternoon. The rock became dislodged and fell on him.
Another fisherman managed to lift the rock off the man and ran to the parking lot to raise the alarm.
He told the car guard that an ambulance was needed for the injured man.
The car guard told a Noetzie resident about the emergency and she called it in. However, they did not know the location, so the guard went to find the injured man and returned with more information for the NSRI in Knysna. The NSRI is a voluntary non-profit organisation that saves lives though drowning prevention.
By nightfall, a massive rescue operation in treacherous conditions was under way.
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The man was at a spot that was difficult to reach, so the car guard waved a reflective vest and fire to direct the rescue crew on the sea.
Rescuers swam through the choppy waves and very rocky – and barely accessible – terrain, pulling their medical equipment and a stretcher.
They reached the man, treated him for hypothermia and injuries, and started planning his evacuation.
To make matters more difficult, there was no cellphone signal, so messages were passed from the rocks to the boat and then on to Knysna NSRI.
The fisherman was moved out of the danger zone of the incoming tide while they waited for a helicopter. It arrived when the light was fading and, with no suitable landing zone, had to redirect to a base at Noetzie.
Two emergency services rescue paramedics and three police search-and-rescue officers also reached the scene to help, and extra rescue swimmers swam under the light of an emergency flare to get to the rocks.
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As darkness fell, and navigating out of the terrain became even more precarious, it was decided that the conditions were too dangerous to continue carrying the injured man.
Lambinon said two paramedics remained with the fisherman for the night and it was decided that the EMS/AMS Skymed helicopter would be dispatched at first light on Sunday.
NSRI crew and SA Police Service search-and-rescue specialists hiked back to Noetzie Beach while the rescue vehicles returned to base.
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The paramedics monitored the man throughout the night, and at 08:00 on Sunday the helicopter arrived and hoisted him to Noetzie Beach. He was airlifted to hospital in a stable condition for further medical care.
"That fisherman, the car attendant, the resident who called NSRI and all emergency services involved are commended for saving the fisherman's life," said Lambinon.
