Man drowns, another missing at Kenton-On-Sea in the Eastern Cape

• A man drowned at the Kariega River Mouth in Kenton-On-Sea in the Eastern Cape.
• His friend is still missing.
• Meanwhile, three men were rescued in Gqeberha after their vessel started sinking.

A man drowned at the Kariega River Mouth in Kenton-On-Sea in the Eastern Cape on Monday afternoon and his friend is still missing.

The National Sea Rescue Institute's (NSRI) Port Alfred deputy station commander, Gerrit Cloete, said it was reported that the two friends were experiencing difficulty in the sea.

NSRI Port Alfred rescue swimmers, police, the Eastern Cape health department's Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Hi-Tec Security Services and Gardmed Ambulance Service responded to the call for help. 

Two NSRI rescue vehicles and crew, as well as police and emergency services, searched the shoreline of Kenton Middle Beach, Kenton Main Beach and the back of the Kariega River.

"An adult male was located a short distance from the river mouth and he was recovered from the water, unresponsive, onto our rescue craft, where CPR efforts were commenced. He was brought to shore and taken into the care of Gardmed paramedics," said Cloete. 

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After CPR was performed, the man was declared dead, the NSRI said.

"The search continued for [the other] man but despite the extensive shoreline and water search, there remains no sign of [the] missing man," Cloete added.

According to the NSRI, it appears that while the two men were at the Kariega River Mouth, one of them got into difficulty in the water."His friend got into difficulty while trying to assist him," Cloete said.

SAPS Water Policing and Diving Services are continuing with their efforts to locate the missing man. The body of the deceased man has been taken into the care of government's Forensic Pathology Service, and police have opened an inquest docket.

Meanwhile, three men were rescued on Monday after the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) at the Port of the Port Elizabeth Port Control and Telkom Maritime Radio Services intercepted a mayday distress signal from a local supply motor vessel.

Three local crew members were aboard the vessels which sunk about eight nautical miles offshore of the Port of Port Elizabeth.

NSRI Gqeberha duty coxswain Mark Dawson said Telkom Maritime Radio Services broadcast "an all-ships emergency alert" while the NSRI Gqeberha rescue craft was launched.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Police Sea Borderline Control, the NSRI Emergency Operations Centre, and Eastern Cape government's EMS were alerted. 

"The three casualty crew had reported that they were abandoning their vessel that they had reported to be taking on water and sinking," said Dawson. 

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The rescue vessel rescued two casualty crewmen from the water while the bulk carrier rescued one casualty crewman after they threw a rope line to him.

"Against strong gusting southeasterly winds, our NSRI rescue craft arrived on the scene to find the casualty vessel semi-submerged with only her bow remaining above water. A lee ... was provided for our NSRI rescue craft by the bulk carrier motor vessel, sheltering our rescue craft from the strong winds," said Dawson.

 In the shelter of the lee, all three casualty crew members were safely transferred onto the NSRI rescue craft. "The casualty crew were brought to our NSRI Gqeberha station 6 rescue base where EMS paramedics medically assessed them before all three men were released in satisfactory conditions and not injured," said Dawson.  

Maritime authorities are assessing the environmental impact while efforts to salvage the casualty vessel are being evaluated by the owners and salvors.