Fishermen raised the alarm when they saw a 60-year-old man jump off a jetty and disappear beneath the waves in Hout Bay harbour in Cape Town.
Their call for help set in motion a frantic joint effort to save the man’s life on Sunday evening.
National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station commander Lyall Pingle said a rescue crew was activated.
“CCP (Community Crime Prevention) members were already en route to the scene when our rescue swimmers and medics responded‚ and the South African Police Services‚ Western Cape government health EMS and Life Healthcare response paramedics were activated‚” said Pringle.
“On our arrival‚ we found that CCP members were already on the scene. They had recovered a 60-year-old local man from the water‚ who had been found floating face-down next to the jetty‚ and they had initiated CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) efforts.”
Medics restored the man’s heartbeat‚ but when it failed a second time‚ CPR was restarted. “The man was transported by EMS ambulance to hospital‚ while EMS and Life Healthcare paramedics‚ assisted by our NSRI medics‚ continued with CPR in the ambulance‚” he said.
CPR continued at hospital‚ but after all efforts to resuscitate the man were exhausted‚ doctors declared him dead.
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