CAPE TOWN – One man drowned and another managed to swim to shore after their rubber duck capsized off-shore of Clifton Beach in Cape Town on Sunday morning, the National Sea Rescue Institute said.

NSRI crew were activated just before 10am following reports of a rubber-duck capsized off Clifton 1st Beach with two people on board, NSRI Bakoven duty coxswain Mark Thompson said.

The skipper of the rubber-duck was found uninjured on the beach.

READ: Skipper missing after boat capsizes in Cape Town

He told rescuers his 34-year-old crewman was missing in the surf after their boat had capsized in heavy swells about 200 metres off-shore. 

During an extensive air, sea, and shoreline search in heavy swells and breaking surf members of the public spotted the body of the missing man in the surf-line at Clifton 4th Beach.

They were able to secure the body, which was then recovered onto the beach where NSRI members started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Paramedics joined in but the man was eventually declared dead.

Police had opened an inquest docket and the South African Maritime Safety Authority would investigate the incident, Thompson said.

“It appears that the crew of the rubber-duck may have been on stand-by for a private Clifton swim after launching earlier at Oceana Power Boat Club.”

African News Agency