A fisherman who was airlifted off a lobster trawler after a boom collapsed on the vessel on Friday has died, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said.
The NSRI launched a rescue operation at 04:00 on Friday to airlift the critically injured fisherman off the trawler off the Eastern Cape coast.
NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said the fisherman and one of his colleagues may have been injured when a boom collapsed.
The critically injured man sustained head injuries and later died, while the other’s fingers had been severed.
The crew member with the severed fingers was in a stable condition and would be taken to shore by the NSRI rescue craft, then to hospital in Humansdorp.
The fishing trawler lay 50 nautical miles south-east of St Francis Bay and 30 nautical miles off shore, at about 04:00 on Friday morning.
The rescue team started treating the unconscious crew member, but called in an airforce helicopter to airlift him to hospital because of his injuries.
– SAPA