The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is calling on members of the public to refrain from taking away from local beaches, the institute’s Pink Rescue Buoys.
The buoys are public emergency flotation rescue equipment designed to provide aid for persons who encounter difficulty in water bodies. The device also assists with the floatation of a rescuer who goes in to help.
Since their inception in 2017, the Pink Bouys have been deployed at selected beaches, rivers and dams across the country to be used by the rescue institution as part of its anti-drowning interventions.
According to the NSRI, since they were deployed, more than 1800 Pink Bouys have been placed strategically around the coastline and at some inland rivers and dams.
NSRI spokesperson Andrew Ingram said to date the buoys have been used to help rescue at least 177 people.
Ingram said: “We are constantly identifying additional sites where they can be placed in cooperation with Municipal authorities.
“The Pink Rescue Buoys have caught the imagination of communities as the word spreads that they successfully save lives. However, we have had a few Pink Buoys stolen over this holiday season. Theft of a Pink Buoy may cost someone their life,” he said.
Ingram said to ensure the safety of the Pink Bouys the NSRI had partnered with volunteers, within the communities the buoys are deployed to look after the devices and make sure that they are always ready to be used, and we appeal to the public to assist to identify any faults or missing buoys.
“If you see a pole that is missing a Pink Buoy please call the cell number on the pole to let us know so that we can replace it. If you see someone with a Pink Buoy and they do not have NSRI identification, it has probably been stolen from a pole."
"Please ask the person who has it to return it to the pole that they removed it from OR to call NSRI so that we can recover the buoy to relocate it to its pole,” Ingram said.