A man in his early 20s is believed to have gone missing while scuba diving near Duiker Island on Sunday, August 2. An extensive search was launched by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) to find the Hout Bay man.

“At 1.23pm, NSRI Hout Bay and NSRI Kommetjie duty crews were activated and three NSRI Hout Bay sea rescue craft, Nadine Gordimer, Albie Matthews and Tintswalo Phoenix and the NSRI Kommetjie sea rescue craft Spirit of the Vines conducted an extensive search in the area,” the NSRI said in a statement. “The SA Police Services and a Police Dive Unit were activated and Police are investigating.”

In a separate incident, on Thursday, July 30 NSRI Hout Bay duty crew responded to Fish on the Rocks, Hout Bay, where a local man was believed to be missing while free diving from a SUP (stand-up paddleboard).

“Shortly after our NSRI crew arrived on the scene the man was found safe and he had not been in any difficulty and he required no assistance,” the NSRI said.

In a separate incident earlier on Sunday, August 2 NSRI Hout Bay crew, on the sea rescue craft Albie Matthews, came across 10 paddlers, males and females, on canoes, who appeared to be in difficulty in the Bay.

They had paddled from Hout Bay harbour to Hout Bay beach and while returning they were caught in a North Westerly wind and they were making no headway against the wind to get back to Hout Bay harbour.

“They accepted NSRI’s offer to assist them. The sea rescue craft Nadine Gordimer joined our sea rescue craft Albie Matthews on the scene and six of the paddlers and their canoes were brought to Hout Bay harbour aboard our sea rescue craft without incident,” the NSRI said. “The remaining four canoeists paddled to Hout Bay harbour without requiring any assistance.”

Picture: NSRI/Supplied

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.