Amidst the recent heavy rains that was experienced in certain areas of the province, members of the Kimberley Search and Rescue Unit placed their own lives at risk in an attempt to rescue victims that were trapped in flooded areas and to recover the bodies of victims who drowned in the strong flowing rivers.
The team under the command of Captain John Seeley including Warrant Officers Ronsard Allen, Michael Korasie , Sergeants Lamberd Scholtz, Sebastian Wildt, Disang Moholoeng, Arnold Strydom and Constable Sheena Floors also formed part of a collective multi-disciplinary humanitarian team headed by the Premier of the Northern Cape, Dr Zamani Saul and various dignitaries including the Acting Provincial Commissioner , Major General Henriette De Waal and the John Taolo Gaetswe Acting District Commander, Brigadier Francis Hender to distribute 8 tons of food to the stranded flood victims on 04 February 2021.
On 06 February 2021, the members also recovered the body of a 14-year-old boy also believed to have drowned in the Irrigation dam in the Barkley –West / Pniel Community farm.
Capt John Seeley and W/O Michael Korasie responded to a report of a family of five in distress on 06 February 2021 in the river in the Boetsap area. It was believed that the family who was traveling in a donkey cart was swashed away and trapped in the river. The two members were airlifted from Kuruman airport by a SANDF Oryx helicopter and flown to the scene where they executed a live bait rescue which involved the lifting of each family member from the river. The family was brought to safety and dropped along the road where the owner of the farm further assisted them. Sadly a 40-year-old male who was also on the donkey cart was swept away and his body was recovered on Monday, 08 February 2021 at 12:20. None of the other family members sustained any injuries during their ordeal.
The team also assisted in rescuing the driver of a bakkie that was swept away by the strongly flowing river on 07 February 2021 at the Spitskop Dam. They found the driver trapped between trees and brought him to safety, however, the vehicle was washed away.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the Northern Cape, Major General Henriette De Waal expressed her sincere gratitude and appreciation to the members of the Kimberley Search and Rescue Unit who gallantly placed their own lives in danger in order to assist and rescue members of the community who were in distress.
Kimberley search and rescue members assist with extractions and distribution of humanitarian relief in flooded JTG area https://t.co/Pd49b9OSSL#ArriveAlive #SearchAndRescue #Assistance @SAPoliceService pic.twitter.com/TEkbbhY5GL
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) February 9, 2021
