A man drowned in the Swartkops River near Port Elizabeth and another man was missing after they jumped off a bridge into the water on Sunday, the National Sea Rescue Institute said.
"It appears that a local man aged in his early 20s had reportedly jumped off the bridge into the river but never surfaced," spokesman Craig Lambinon said.
"We believe that a friend, also a local man... had then jumped in after his friend, in an effort to rescue his friend, but eye-witnesses claimed that man had also disappeared under water."
The body of the man who jumped first was found but it was suspected that the second man had been swept away by an incoming tide, Lambinon said.
Police would continue to search for the missing man.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 
