Three people have died and two remain missing after five people went overboard from a vessel about 90km off the Mossel Bay coast on Wednesday.
The five people were aboard the vessel when the incident happened approximately 47 nautical miles offshore. The distance placed the emergency well beyond the coastline and triggered a major maritime search and rescue operation involving helicopters and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.
Transport department spokesperson Collen Msibi confirmed that an incident had taken place, but said the circumstances remained under investigation.
“We can confirm there has been an incident,” Msibi said.
“There were five people aboard.
“Three bodies have been recovered, and two people are still missing.”
The confirmation brought an end to early uncertainty about the number of people involved, but left key questions unanswered. Officials have not yet said what type of vessel was involved, what caused the five people to go overboard or whether the vessel itself suffered damage.
Msibi said the South African Maritime Safety Authority, known as Samsa, would investigate the cause of the incident. At the same time, the search for the two missing people continued into the night.
In a holding statement, Samsa said the five people had gone overboard. The authority said the incident was reported to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, which activated the search and rescue operation and was coordinating the response.
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre is responsible for coordinating emergency responses at sea. In incidents far from land, the operation can involve several agencies and aircraft, with teams working to locate people in the water, recover bodies and establish whether anyone may have reached another vessel or debris.
The search area can also change quickly because people in the sea may be moved by wind, waves and ocean currents. Darkness and weather conditions can make the work even more difficult, particularly when rescuers are operating many kilometres from shore.
Helicopter crews were involved in the operation off Mossel Bay. It is understood that two of the recovered bodies were flown to George Airport, while the third was brought to Mossel Bay late on Wednesday night.
The recovery of the bodies marked a grim stage in the operation, while rescuers continued looking for the two people who had not been found. Search teams were expected to rely on aircraft, vessels and information from the vessel involved as they worked to determine the likely location of the missing people.
Samsa urged the public and the media not to speculate about what happened. The authority said only verified information should be relied on while the search and investigation were under way.
“As search and rescue efforts continue, Samsa is unable to provide further details regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident,” the authority said.
“Samsa will provide further updates as and when verified information becomes available.
“Members of the public and media are requested to refrain from speculation and rely solely on official information issued by Samsa regarding this incident.”
Samsa said it would issue a more detailed statement later.
The incident is the latest serious maritime emergency to draw attention to the dangers faced by people working or travelling far offshore along the Southern Cape coastline. Mossel Bay is a busy coastal area with fishing, transport and other maritime activity, and emergencies in deeper water can quickly become complex because of the distance from land.
For the families of the five people involved, the search remained the immediate priority. Until the two missing people are found and formally accounted for, authorities will continue treating the operation as an active search and rescue mission.
The identities of the people who died, as well as those still missing, had not been released in the initial official statements. It was also not immediately clear whether any survivors were involved or whether other vessels assisted at the scene.
The recovery process will form part of the broader investigation. Authorities are expected to examine the vessel, weather and sea conditions, communications, safety procedures and the events immediately before the five people went overboard.
The investigation will be handled separately from the rescue operation, although information gathered during the search could help officials reconstruct what happened. Samsa is expected to provide further details once those facts have been checked.
For now, officials have confirmed three deaths, two missing people and an ongoing search 47 nautical miles off the Mossel Bay coast. The public has been urged to wait for confirmed updates as rescue crews continue their work at sea.