Rescue groups are scouring the waters off Eden on the Bay after native kite surfer Graham Howes vanished on Sunday afternoon.
Graham Howes/Fb
The 38-year-old from Bloubergstrand was final seen shortly after 1pm, carrying a black wetsuit and driving a blue-and-black board beneath a white kite marked with pink lettering. When he didn’t return dwelling later within the day, the alarm was raised, sparking a large-scale rescue mission, as reported by Smile FM.
Preliminary search efforts had been launched shortly earlier than 8pm on Sunday and carried by way of into the early hours of Monday morning, however there was no hint of him.
Craig Lambinon, spokesperson for the Nationwide Sea Rescue Institute, confirmed that Howes is a seasoned kiteboarder. He added that CCTV footage obtained from native safety cameras confirmed him offshore within the Eden on the Bay space shortly after 1pm.
The response has seen NSRI craft from Melkbosstrand, Desk Bay and Yzerfontein deployed, supported by shoreline patrols and an EMS Metro Rescue drone unit conducting aerial infrared sweeps. Authorities engaged on the case embrace SAPS, the Metropolis of Cape City’s water rescue community and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.
Police have opened an investigation, with Lambinon stressing that ‘all potentialities are being regarded into.’
The search has since widened dramatically, with grids stretching so far as Robben Island, Bokpunt and even up the coast in direction of Yzerfontein and Dassen Island, influenced by shifting winds, currents and climate.
Authorities are calling on the local people, in addition to fishing, crusing and maritime vessels working between Blouberg Seaside and the West Coast past Dassen Island, to stay on alert and report any sightings which will help.
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