Petition for lifeguards to be placed at Seaforth Beach – IOL

By Athandile Siyo Mar 2, 2021

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Cape Town - A suspected drowning at Seaforth Beach in Simons Town has prompted residents to start a petition calling for the City to deploy lifeguards.

But the City says it is impossible to cover every stretch of the coastline, and Seaforth Beach was rated a relatively safe swimming environment.

NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said that the Simons Town duty crew were requested to respond to the drowning in support of the Cape Medical Response (CMR) and the police at 11.03am on Sunday.

CMR paramedics conducted extensive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts on the male from Belhar, who is believed to have been rescued from the water by bystanders but, sadly, he has been declared deceased.

There are security guards but they are not trained to deal with incidents that include drowning

JON MONSOON Co-director of Shark Warrior Adventures

The body of the man was taken into the care of police and Western Cape government health forensic pathology services, he said.

Simons Town resident and co-director of Shark Warrior Adventures, Jon Monsoon, said the death had prompted them to start a petition calling for the City to put safety measures in place at the beach in an effort to prevent similar incidents in the future.

I have been at the beach every day because of the project that we are doing there, teaching children to swim, but I have never seen a lifeguard at the beach. There are security guards but they are not trained to deal with incidents that include drowning, guarding people to swim in safe areas and avoid rocks, or even basic signage because at this stage we cant say the man drowned because it also seems like he was diving and hit his head on the rock. All we need is for basic safety measures to be put in place.

Mayco member for community services Zahid Badroodien said the City reviewed the placement of lifeguards annually, and up to 340 seasonal beach lifeguards worked at 29 beaches, tidal pools, and stretches of coast along the vast 260km expanse under the management of the City.

It is impossible for the City to cover every stretch of coastline. Each location is carefully selected based on a number of factors including the average number of visitors, accessibility, risk for incidents, swimmer hazards (e.g. rip currents), and historical incident data.

Based on these criteria, Seaforth Beach is rated a relatively safe swimming environment, taking into account that the bay is sheltered with offshore rocks and reefs. The risk of drowning is ranked comparatively low and, subsequently, lifeguards were not allocated to this beach when the seasonal plan for 2020/2021 was rolled out.

The department, in consultation with other stakeholders, continuously assesses drowning incidents during the season and, if deemed necessary, will make adjustments to lifeguard allocations. It needs to be noted, though, that these changes will have an impact on other sites from where the lifeguards will have to be withdrawn, he said.

To sign the petition, visit: https:// http://www.change.org/

Cape Times

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Petition for lifeguards to be placed at Seaforth Beach - IOL