Cape Town - A Mitchells Plain man died after he heroically came to the aid of three teenagers who got caught in a rip current at Mnandi Beach, False Bay.
The man, identified as 48-year-old, Reza Yon, had launched into the water to go to their aid armed with a body board.
Arno Constance, NSRI Strandfontein deputy station commander, said that they were alerted to the incident at 2.45pm on Sunday after getting reports of a drowning in progress.
The NSRI Strandfontein sea rescue craft, Rescue 16 Alpha was launched while NSRI rescue swimmers responded directly to the scene.
“Other water rescue services could not immediately be reached due to load shedding that had prevented digital communication.
“On arrival on the scene the NSRI rescue craft rescued two teenagers who were located in the back breaker surf zone, they were using a body board for flotation,” Constance said.
“They were rescued onto the NSRI rescue craft. Both were hypothermic and in shock.
“While bringing the two teenagers to the shore they indicated that their friend, also a teenager, had managed to reach the shore, while an adult male had been in the water assisting them before they had lost sight of the adult male,” he said.
Yon had reached the three teenagers in the water and provided them with the body board to use as flotation, before he got into difficulty.
The NSRI rescue craft crew spotted Yon in the mid break surf zone, where they recovered him onto the sea rescue craft, but he was found to be lifeless.
Constance said that the NSRI team brought the casualty to the shore where they used Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in an attempt to resuscitate him.
“By that stage the SA Police Services and Western Cape Government Health EMS had been activated and they had arrived on the scene together with additional NSRI rescue crew.
“Paramedics continued with CPR on Yon but sadly, after all efforts to resuscitate him were exhausted, he was declared deceased,” Constance said.
One of the three male local teenagers (two of whom are aged 13 and one of whom is aged 14) was treated by EMS paramedics for hypothermia and for shock before being released, requiring no further medical assistance.
The remaining two teenagers had departed the scene by private transport.
“Police and Government Health Forensic Pathology Services took the body of the deceased man into their care. Police have opened an inquest docket,” Constance said.
“Without doubt the flotation of the body board contributed to saving the three teenagers lives. Reza Yon is commended for saving the lives of the three teenagers,” he said.