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Plenty of party balloons are suspected of being behind reports that distressed swimmers were swept into the sea in Cape Town on Saturday.
A search and rescue helicopter and a rescue boat joined the search for two swimmers suspected of being washed out to sea off the coast of Maidens Cove, between Clifton and Camps Bay.
This was after the National Maritime Rescue Institute received eyewitness reports of two swimmers being swept into the sea, with yellow and orange floating objects.
“The NSRI Table Bay Sea Rescue Vessel Spirit of Day was launched, while NSRI Bakoven and the NSRI Table Bay coastal crew searched along the coast,” said Bakoven Station Commander Luke van Riet.
“A preliminary search in high winds and rough seas revealed no signs of swimmers in difficulty and the Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services and its dive unit and law enforcement officers were activated and joined the search.
The EMS / AMS Skymed rescue helicopter, a WSAR [Wilderness Search and Rescue] The team was activated and the NSRI Hout Bay sea rescue vessels Nadine Gordimer and Albie Matthews launched to join the search, ”he added.
An NSRI coastal observer was also scanning the sea with the use of high-powered binoculars from a vantage point and local media was alerted to determine if members of the public knew of two swimmers who may have been swimming off the coast of the area.
After an extensive search of the shoreline, rescuers were unable to find the reported swimmers. Instead, they found a pile of at least five party balloons floating in the water.
“It is strongly suspected, in the strong winds that were causing white crests on the waves, that this is what witnesses may have observed,” Van Riet said.
He said that with no one reported missing or delayed, the search was suspended without further reports related to the incident.
Van Riet said they believe this was a “well-intentioned false alarm” and praised eyewitnesses for raising the alarm as a precautionary measure. He congratulated all the actors for their quick action and thorough search.
He called on residents not to release party balloons in high winds along the coast.
“Like sky lanterns, which when lit give the wrong impression of red distress flares, party balloons floating loose in the ocean can give the wrong impression of swimmers in distress,” Van Riet said.
TimesLIVE
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