(File, Samantha Lee-Jacobs)

• Rescuers are searching for a man who went missing trying to rescue his relatives in trouble in the surf. 
• The National Sea Rescue Institute said two children got into difficulty at Strand beach and he ran in to save them. 
• He disappeared in the surf, and one of the two children who were rescued was taken to hospital in a critical condition. 

A summer swim at Strand beach turned into a horrific sequence of events as a 19-year-old man who went to the rescue of two young relatives in the sea disappeared under the water.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) was among a massive rescue team called to help as the scene unfolded on Thursday afternoon.

The NSRI said a nine-year-old and 16-year-old girl from Mfuleni in Cape Town got into difficulty in the surf while swimming. 

A 19-year-old relative tried to help them but he also got into difficulty and disappeared in the surf. 

Lifeguards rescued the little girl and teenager, but the child had to be transported to hospital by helicopter in a critical condition.

A massive search, including helicopter sweeps and divers, continued for the man who tried to save them. 

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