Overview
- Two colleagues entered the surf to rescue a friend at Strand Beach and were swept away by rip currents, with the alarm raised at about 13:43 on Wednesday after eyewitnesses reported a drowning in progress.
- A local surfer pulled the initial distressed man to shore and he was treated by paramedics and later released without further care.
- Police divers from the Water Policing and Diving Service, assisted by the NSRI and emergency medical teams, recovered an adult male body on Thursday morning in the Helderberg Marine Protected Area near the Lourens River.
- Authorities believe the recovered body is the 39‑year‑old man from Mfuleni, Blue Downs, but family confirmation and forensic identification are still under way and police continue active searches for the 22‑year‑old from Belhar.
- A multi‑agency operation that used rescue craft, free‑dive police searches, aerial support including an AMS/Skymed helicopter, drones and shoreline teams remains in place and families are being assisted as an inquest docket is investigated.