Joburg Good Samaritan saves Stellies man from drowning

A Johannesburg man saved the life of a Stellenbosch swimmer at Gordon's Bay beach in the Western Cape on Saturday. 

However, the man's friend drowned despite efforts to save him. 

The National Sea Rescue Institute said Good Samaritans JD Siecker and his girlfriend Kim Nast, from Johannesburg, were swimming at Gordons Bay beach at about 3.15pm on Saturday when they noticed two men in difficulty.

“JD managed to pull one man up from under water and rescue him to the beach. Kim had run down the beach to alert lifeguards.”

Alan Meiklejohn, NSRI Gordons Bay station commander said when Siecker went back to assist the second man, he had disappeared under water.

“JD alerted a bystander on the beach, Neal de Wit, who contacted his friend Russel Human, of Disaster Risk Management, who was off duty and the alarm was raised.”

Meiklejohn said the second man's lifeless body was recovered by a combined team of responders, however efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

NSRI commended the three for their efforts.

Around the same time in East London, Geoff McGregor, NSRI East London duty controller, said their duty crew were activated after reports of a drowning in progress at the Nahoon River mouth.  

He said a combined team of responders started looking for a local man, in his early 20s, who went missing while swimming in the river with friends.

“During a search the body of the man was located under water and recovered by NSRI rescue swimmers.  Sadly the man was declared deceased,” he said.

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