Cape Town – A man is missing after he jumped into the sea on Friday to evade traffic police in Ballito, north of Durban.
In a statement, Medi Response said search and rescue crews were activated to Clarke Bay in Ballito, following reports of a person in the sea.
Medi Response, however, abandon its efforts when the man turned violent.
“Last night [Friday], Medi Response search and rescue crews were activated to Clarke Bay in Ballito after reports of a person in the sea.
“On arrival, it was established that a man had allegedly been stopped at a routine police traffic roadblock when he alighted his vehicle and began running towards the ocean. It is reported the man then entered the water and proceeded to cling to rocks,” said Medi Response.
Rescue swimmers entered the water in a bid to bring the man back to shore but he was wholly unco-operative and refused to return to shore.
“The man is evidently a strong swimmer as he was seemingly capable in his attempts. Equally, he was aggressive in warding off his would-be rescuers with attempts made to push and hold one of the rescuers underwater.
“The man proceeded to swim about 500m in a southerly direction towards Zimbali. Ultimately, rescue swimmers abandoned their efforts to coax the man to shore owing to safety concerns. The incident was left in the hands of police,” Medi Response said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
