Capsize crew tell of sea drama
East London - A sailor is missing off the Kei River mouth after a catamaran capsized on Sunday night, said the National Sea Rescue Institute on Monday.
NSRI East London station commander Geoff McGregor said two other crew of the 40-foot Tamuza, sailing from Cape Town to Durban, were rescued.
The Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre launched a rescue operation after one of the sailors had managed to send a distress signal after midday on Monday.
McGregor said: "Both survivors reported they shielded themselves from wind by staying inside a forward hatch and one of the survivors dived below decks into the cabin to activate the emergency distress signalling beacon."
The survivors had been asleep below decks when the vessel capsized, while the missing third man had been at the helm.
None of the sailors was identified.
Meanwhile, a canoeist's body was found floating in the Swartvlei lake near George on Monday after his canoe was found at the edge of the lake, said NSRI Wilderness station commander Hennie Niehaus.
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