At 17h25, Sunday, 31 May, NSRI Gordons Bay duty crew were activated following eyewitness reports suspecting a paraglider landed in the sea offshore between Dappat Se Gat and Kogelbaai.
The CoCT (City of Cape Town) water rescue network, ARCC (Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre) and MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) were alerted by NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre).
ARCC, in cooperation with NSRI, coordinated a search and rescue operation.
The NSRI rescue craft Spirit of Surfski was launched while our NSRI rescue vehicle, the SA Police Services and WC Government Health EMS rescue squad responded.
EMS Metro Control placed the EMS Rescue Squad Drone Unit on alert.
NSRI shore crew met on the shoreline at Dappat Se Gat with the eyewitness and CoCT shark spotters – using binoculars in fading daylight and fog conditions – but sight of what appeared to be a person (or an object) in the water at least 1.5 nautical miles offshore were lost.
The NSRI rescue craft arriving on the scene initiated a search while ARCC reached out to the local paragliding association who indicated that all of their paragliders were accounted for. They also indicated that if it had been a paraglider it would have been a motorised paraglider (at that distance out to sea) and considerations were made of the possibility of a lone motorised paraglider!
Despite an extensive search in dense fog and night conditions there were no signs found of anyone in the water and there remains no reports to Police or to the emergency services of anyone overdue or missing that may be related to this case.
At that stage a local surfer came forward indicating that he had also seen the object which he believed to be large helium party balloons.
NSRI, Police and the emergency services stood down pending any new information.
Had the object been helium party balloons then this is the second time in a week that a search and rescue operation has been launched for similar sightings.
On Saturday, 23 May, NSRI Wilderness recovered helium party balloons landed in the sea offshore of Wilderness. They had also been reported as suspected to be a paraglider landing in the water.
Both cases, false alarms with good intentions.
While it is not suspected that these 2 cases of helium party balloons landing in the sea (at Wilderness and at Kogelbaai) are related, Police are monitoring.
NSRI are appealing to public members who may know of helium party balloons being lost from any event in the Wilderness area, around 23rd of May, and in the Kogelbaai area, around 31 May, to come forward – they can call NSRI EOC on +27870949774 (this is an emergency number only).
We are also appealing to anyone who may find helium party balloons washed ashore in the Kogelbaai area to alert NSRI.
NSRI commends the eyewitness, at Kogelbaai, for alerting NSRI, and we commend the surfer for coming forward indicating vital information that he believed these to be helium party balloons.
NSRI commend the cooperation of ARCC who led in coordinating yesterdays search operation and we commend the paragliding community for their assistance.
