One dead in Cape boat tragedy

A DRAMATIC sea rescue was under way late yesterday near Hout Bay after a packed ferry boat carrying 41 sunk while on a sight-seeing trip.

One passenger was confirmed dead and five were still missing by 6pm yesterday.

Surviving passengers had to be plucked from the sea by air and sea rescue personnel and by members of the public who rushed to the accident scene, about a kilometre offshore, in their own boats.

One passenger survived being trapped beneath the hull and was rescued in a serious condition by police divers.

"At this stage we suspect the boat hit something in the water. She started filling with water and sank," said National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Craig Lambinon.

About 25 of the survivors were injured, some of them seriously, and were taken to hospital, Lambinon said. The injured included at least two foreign tourists.

Although exact details of the accident remain unclear, the Sunday Times has established that the stricken craft was a 42-seater whale-watching boat called Miroshga, owned by Hout Bay-based company Hangberg Boat Charters.

Granville Bauman lives near the harbour. He said his brother-in- law, Greg, is the boat's captain. He was rescued and later helped with rescue operation.

"I know this boat, it goes out daily for whale-watching, it was well maintained. My family and I often went on it for sunset cruises. I really can't say what happened," said Bauman.

Sounds of emergency sirens and helicopters rang out over Hout Bay harbour yesterday. Tourists looked on from the patio at Lookout Deck Restaurant as rescue workers covered shivering survivors on stretchers with blankets.

A survivor from Sweden, wrapped in a blanket, said the waves seemed big during the boat ride.

"It happened fast, suddenly I was swimming. I struggled, I thought I was going to die."