The NSRI said the incident took place on Thursday when beachgoers raised the alarm that a woman had been swept away by rip currents.
Image: Independent Newspapers
A 20-year-old student from Cape Town has been hailed a hero after saving a woman from rip currents offshore of Die Poort in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape.
Jaco du Plessis, from Durbanville, was visiting the area with his friends and fellow students from Potchefstroom in the North West when he managed to save a woman in distress.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) commended Du Plessis for his heroic act.
NSRI Mossel Bay coxswain, Andre Fraser said the incident took place on Thursday, January 16 at 4.35pm.
He said duty crews were activated following calls from multiple bystanders and the Big Blue Restaurant who reported a drowning in progress.
NSRI crew and rescue swimmers, By Grace ambulance services, a Western Cape Government Health EMS rescue squad, Mossel Bay Fire and Rescue Services, and ER24 ambulance services responded. The Police Water Policing and Diving Services (WPDS) and Police Sea Borderline Control (SBC) were also alerted.
“A lady, age 52, from Riversdale, visiting a friend in Mossel Bay, while swimming in the vicinity at Die Poort, was caught in strong draft currents and it appears that she missed being able to grab a hold of the safety ropes, stationed at Die Poort in the water, before being swept out to sea by rip currents and then being swept by sea currents across the shoreline towards The Point,” Fraser said.
He said eyewitnesses raced to the restaurant pleading with staff and patrons to raise the alarm.
“A group of Potchefstroom students, on a holiday, from various parts of the country, who were at the restaurant and overheard the commotion, immediately offered their assistance and sprang into action, running down to the shoreline, searching for the lady in distress, while also searching for anything that floats that might aid them in a rescue effort,” Fraser said.
With no floating device in sight, Du Plessis, who saw the woman in dire distress in the heavy sea currents, launched into the water and swam towards her while his friends kept an eye on their location and followed along the shoreline.
“Du Plessis reached the woman as she was approaching towards the rocky shoreline, near The Point, and he assisted her, guiding her towards the rocky shoreline, and then assisting her onto the rocks once they reached the shoreline,” Fraser said.
At this stage, NSRI rescue swimmers arrived at the scene and they joined the student’s friends who were waiting along the rocks as the two were coming ashore. Together, they assisted the woman and Du Plessis safely up onto the rocks.
The woman was taken into the care of paramedics who assisted with medical treatment at the scene.
She was then transported to the hospital in a serious but stable condition where she was treated for non-fatal drowning symptoms before being discharged into the care of her friend.
“The NSRI commends Good Samaritan Jaco du Plessis for his efforts that contributed to saving the life of the woman - and his friends who helped,” Fraser said.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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