Overview
- Authorities confirmed multiple deaths since January 31, including 80-year-old John Flanigan after a sea‑kayak incident off Bloubergstrand and a 14-year-old at the Boesmansrivier Mouth in Kenton‑on‑Sea.
- An Austrian tourist died after being caught in rip currents at Wilderness despite lifeguard rescues and hospital care, and a 20-year-old Plumstead man was recovered from De Villiers Dam on Table Mountain.
- Search operations remain active for a 16-year-old missing at Wells Estate in Gqeberha and for an unidentified man feared drowned between Bakoven and Llandudno, where personal items believed to be his were recovered.
- NSRI, police divers, municipal lifeguards, EMS and fire/rescue units coordinated responses across scenes, with inquest dockets opened and forensic services handling recoveries.
- In Western Australia, a 13-year-old swam about 4 km over four hours to raise the alarm, enabling a multi-agency rescue that found his mother and two siblings about 14 km offshore; officials credited life jackets and the boy’s detailed report.