Search Continues for 23-Year-Old Gqeberha Man Swept Away by Rip Current

• A search is ongoing for a 23-year-old man who went missing after an alleged drowning incident at Bluewater Bay
• It is alleged that a strong rip current led to the drowning incident while the victim was swimming with his sister
• Extensive rescue efforts conducted by the NSRI, police, and local lifeguards are continuing

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

GQEBERHA, EASTERN CAPE - A search is underway for a 23-year-old man who went missing while swimming at Bluewater Bay in Gqeberha on Friday evening, 2 January 2025.

A drowning in progress

NSRI Gqeberha deputy station commander Simon Williams said rescue teams were activated shortly before 7 pm after reports of a drowning in progress. NSRI rescue swimmers were dispatched to the scene, and the rescue craft Eddie Beaumont II was launched.

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Williams said the South African Police Service, Eastern Cape Government Health EMS and Relay ambulance services also responded, joining Coastal Water Rescue and Blue Water Bay lifeguards, who had already begun searching the sea and shoreline.

Swimming with his 19-year-old sister

Preliminary information indicates that the man had been swimming with his 19-year-old sister when they were caught in a strong rip current. A local fisherman managed to rescue the young woman and bring her safely to shore. She was not injured.

Despite an extensive and sustained search, there has been no sign of the missing man. Police Search and Rescue, with assistance from local lifeguards, will continue the search operations.

Other drowning incidents

Human remains believed to be linked to a missing South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member have been discovered in the Nkomazi River along the South Africa–Mozambique border. Mpumalanga police said a fisherman found a human head floating in a remote part of the river. The discovery comes after two SANDF members were swept away by floodwaters on Christmas Day, 25 December 2025, while conducting Operation Corona patrols aimed at securing the country’s borders.

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A potentially fatal boating incident at the Grootdraai Dam near Standerton was narrowly avoided on Monday, 29 December 2025. Emergency services prevented a ski-boat from being swept over a 40-metre spillway into the Vaal River. Four men were rescued in a high-risk operation after their ski-boat became trapped in fast-flowing water at the edge of the dam wall. The men were clinging to the stern of the vessel when police divers raised the alarm shortly after 7 pm.

5 Bodies recovered in KZN flooding

In a related article, Briefly News reported that KwaZulu-Natal's disaster management recovered five bodies that had been washed away during the recent heavy flooding in the province.

The victims were swept away in Lamontville. Three of the victims were children, while two of them were elderly members of society. The Thekwini Municipality said it would assist with their burials.

Source: Briefly News