Search continues for missing teenager off uMdloti beach, north of Durban
The NSRI Durban rescue craft The Victor Daitz and the NSRI Ballito rescue craft, Rescue 41 Alpha, were both launched to assist in the search for the missing teen.
Image: National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI)
An extensive search operation off uMdloti beach, north of Durban has yielded no sign of a teenager who got into difficulty while swimming with two other teenage boys on Wednesday.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Durban station commander Etienne van Zyl said in a statement on Thursday that its Durban, Ballito and uMhlanga crews had responded around 3.47pm on Wednesday to a request for assistance from eThekwini lifeguards, on the KZN Surf Rescue Network.
“Lifeguards were searching for a 17-year-old male teenager (believed to be a local) who had gone missing in the water after the lifeguards had rescued two bathers, both males, ages 18 and 19, from the water, after all three bathers had got into difficulty in the surf zone - offshore of the Umdloti tidal pool.”
Van Zyl said that NSRI Durban rescue craft The Victor Daitz and the Ballito rescue craft, Rescue 41 Alpha, were both launched during the search.
“NSRI rescue swimmers, NSRI rescue vehicles, the SA Police Services, Netcare 911 ambulance services and Durban Metro Police Search and Rescue responded to join eThekwini lifeguards and Marshall Security officers on the scene.
“Extensive sea and shoreline search efforts, including free dive search efforts by eThekwini lifeguards and an NSRI rescue swimmer, and shoreline patrols, revealed no sign of the missing teenager.”
Van Zyl added that police divers (WPDS - Water Policing and Diving Services), Police Search and Rescue and Durban Metro Police Search and Rescue, assisted by eThekwini lifeguards, are continuing in ongoing search efforts.
“Thoughts and care are with family and friends of the missing teenager in this difficult time.”