Rescue teams are scouring the waters off Eden on the Bay after local kite surfer Graham Howes vanished on Sunday afternoon.
Graham Howes/Facebook
The 38-year-old from Bloubergstrand was last seen shortly after 1pm, wearing a black wetsuit and riding a blue-and-black board beneath a white kite marked with red lettering. When he failed to return home later in the day, the alarm was raised, sparking a large-scale rescue mission, as reported by Smile FM.
Initial search efforts were launched shortly before 8pm on Sunday and carried through into the early hours of Monday morning, but there has been no trace of him.
Craig Lambinon, spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute, confirmed that Howes is a seasoned kiteboarder. He added that CCTV footage obtained from local security cameras showed him offshore in the Eden on the Bay area shortly after 1pm.
The response has seen NSRI craft from Melkbosstrand, Table Bay and Yzerfontein deployed, supported by shoreline patrols and an EMS Metro Rescue drone unit conducting aerial infrared sweeps. Authorities working on the case include SAPS, the City of Cape Town’s water rescue network and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.
Police have opened an investigation, with Lambinon stressing that ‘all possibilities are being looked into.’
The search has since widened dramatically, with grids stretching as far as Robben Island, Bokpunt and even up the coast towards Yzerfontein and Dassen Island, influenced by shifting winds, currents and weather.
Authorities are calling on the local community, as well as fishing, sailing and maritime vessels operating between Blouberg Beach and the West Coast beyond Dassen Island, to remain on alert and report any sightings that may assist.
Article shared by Cape Town ETC
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