Teenager vanishes while rescuing child in Swartkops River

Police divers are actively searching for a 17-year-old boy who went missing in the Swartkops River near the Tiger Bay launch site on Friday morning.

According to a statement National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said, the teenager is feared to have vanished underwater while attempting to assist another child who had fallen off a sandbank while swimming.

Fortunately, the child reached safety, but the teenager has not been seen since. 

"It appears that a group of children were fishing along the river banks since the early hours of the morning. We believe that some of the children were swimming when a child stepped off a ledge under the water by a sandbank and appeared to disappear under water," NSRI said.

"The local male teenager had gone into the water to assist, but we believe that the child had managed to get to the river bank safely when the teenager, reaching the child at the river bank, may then have stepped off the same ledge, by the sandbank, and disappeared. He has not been seen since."

NSRI added that despite extensive search efforts, there has been no sign of the missing teenager.

"On arrival on the scene, the NSRI rescue craft JetRIB and 2 CWR rescue CROCS (rescue craft) were launched onto the river, in a strong outgoing Spring tide, to search for the missing teenager, while shoreline search efforts were continued.

"Police divers (WPDS), supported by the NSRI rescue craft JetRIB, scuba dived and searched. Despite extensive surface water, scuba dive and shoreline search efforts, there remain no signs of the missing teenager."

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Cape Argus