No rescue mission is beyond the call of duty for the National Sea Rescue Institute it seems – whether it be on land or sea‚ as in one particular case this weekend‚ when sea rescuers had to go to the aid of car hijack victims.

The NSRI crew at Strandontein in the Western Cape were hosting a pre-season get-together on Friday night when they received a call at about 10.30pm from local fishermen reporting a couple appearing to be in trouble on the beach north of Strandfontein Beach.

Vaughn Seconds‚ NSRI Strandfontein station commander‚ takes up the story:

“We dispatched our sea rescue vehicle and our rescue quad bike and on arrival on the scene we found an abandoned vehicle in amongst the sand dunes and we activated the SA Police Service.

“A short while later a police patrol vehicle happened upon a man and a woman‚ aged in their 30s‚ from Mitchell’s Plain‚ who were running along Lukkanon Drive along the beach front.

“Both were in shock reporting to have been hijacked by a group of men who had followed them in a vehicle while they were leaving Mitchell’s Plain in their vehicle‚ and the men had driven their vehicle in amongst the sand dunes but the couple were able to escape.

“Police brought the couple to the sea rescue base in Strandfontein where our NSRI medics treated them for shock and family were summoned to collect them.”

Police were investigating the incident‚ Seconds added.