Staff Reporter
Four men were rescued on Monday night after their ski-boat became trapped on the edge of the Grootdraai Dam spillway near Standerton in Mpumalanga.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said its Witbank and Gauteng duty crews were activated at 7.05pm on Monday after police divers requested urgent assistance.
Emergency teams already on scene — including the Department of Water and Sanitation, South African Police Service divers, Delta 1 Search and Rescue, police K9 search and rescue, Mpumalanga fire and rescue services and provincial emergency medical services — were unable to reach the men, the NSRI said.
The men were in the water and clinging to their boat in heavy flowing water at the dam wall spillway.
“It appears that the four men may have experienced motor mechanical failure to their ski-boat and they had drifted to the edge of the dam wall, at the spillway, that threatened to wash them and their boat over the wall in heavy flowing water, with an approximately 40 meter drop into the Vaal River,” the NSRI said.
NSRI Witbank dispatched a rescue craft from Witbank, about 140 km away, while NSRI Gauteng sent a second craft from Benoni, about 143 km away.
On arrival, NSRI Witbank launched its rescue craft several kilometres upstream, accompanied by three rescue crew and a member of the public who has vast knowledge of the dam.
“This was an unfolding situation faced by various risks at an unfamiliar terrain where decisions made in seconds could determine success or failure,” the NSRI said.
It said a DWS official opened three sluice spillway gates, which “automatically created a vacuum under the casualty boat alleviating the overflow pressure” and helped prevent the boat from being swept over the edge.
“NSRI has commended the Department of Water and Sanitation for what they achieved by opening the three sluice spillway gates,” it added.
NSRI Witbank station commander Travis Clack said the initial plan was to drift stern-first toward the men with power ready if the rescue craft was threatened, but strong winds forced a change of approach.
On reaching the men, a throw line with a soft rescue buoy was deployed. “Initially the considerations were to rescue one at a time, in relays,” said Travis. But, he said, the conditions meant there would be only one chance: “wrap the throw line around your arms and hold on tight”.
The crew applied reverse thrust to pull all four men away from the trapped boat and into safer water. They were then brought aboard and taken to shore, where paramedics assessed them and found no injuries.
The four adult men were from Kinross in Mpumalanga, Scottburgh on KwaZulu-Natal’s south coast, Potchefstroom and the Standerton area.
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