Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes, they’re armed with an NSRI Pink Rescue Buoy.
According to the NSRI, Renaldo Arthur was sitting at the benches behind the trees in Kleinmond Harbour when he heard shouting coming from the Harbour wall approximately 70 metres away.
Investigating the commotion, he noticed two women and one man in distress in the water and ran over to the Harbour wall to assist them, injuring his knee in the process.
The man seen in the water was trying to save one of the women but was unsuccessful and had to swim back to hold on to the steps of Habour or risk drowning himself.
The woman he tried to save managed to make it to safety. The other woman appeared to be struggling more as her head went under the water a number of times.
Renaldo then decided to jump into the water to save her. Upon reaching the woman, he attempted to hold her up a bit but in her panic she lashed out, grabbed him tightly around the neck and knocked out a few of his teeth.
A second man, Dustin, jumped in shortly after to help.
At that point, Raowi, an Overstrand Municipality worker threw the pink buoy stationed at Kleinmond Harbour towards the people in the water.
Renaldo and Dustin managed to get the woman to hold onto/lay on the pink buoy, pulled the buoy by the strap towards the safety of the Harbour wall and got her out of the water.
The alarm was raised.
NSRI Kleinmong Crew arrived shortly after having received an alert from Warrant Officer Appolis of Kleinmond Police. NSRI Crew members administered first aid and an ambulance was dispatched.
Take a look:
The NSRI’s Pink Rescue Buoy initiative has been a ground-breaking innovation for Drowning Prevention since 2017, winning the IMRF (International Maritime Rescue Federation) Award for Innovation and Technology in 2018.
Placed strategically on signs at selected inland rivers, dams and beaches, these bright pink buoys act as a reminder to take care if there are no lifeguards on duty, and that in the event of someone in distress in the water, they can be used as emergency flotation until help arrives.
Their bright pink colour allows them to be easily seen.
Each Pink Rescue Buoy is housed on a sturdy pole with signage showing how they should be used, as well as the NSRI’s emergency number and the buoy’s unique identification number, which helps rescue services identify the location of the emergency.
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Picture: NSRI / Facebook