Cape swimmers warned to stick to protected beaches after two ...

Cape Town bathers and beachgoers have been warned to stick to swimming at beaches protected by life guards after two attacks on Saturday — one by a seal and the other by an as-yet-unknown small marine creature with teeth, suspected to have been a shark. 

National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson Craig Lambinon said the two latest incidents were unrelated, with the first having happened at Blue Waters in False Bay and the other at Bloubergstrand’s Big Bay. 

The City of Cape Town’s water rescue network was activated by the NSRI’s emergency operations centre at 1pm on Saturday after they received a crisis call about a man having been bitten by “a marine animal” while wading chest deep in the surf at Blue Waters Beach. 

Lifeguards attended to the man, reported to be 65 years old. He had been bitten on the hand and leg. 

People who saw the attack said they thought the man had been bitten by a small shark, but his wounds are being investigated to determine the species that attacked him. 

Lifeguards quickly notified other responding rescue services that the man was out of the water, in good spirits and being taken care of. Lifeguards bandaged his wounds, he was able to walk and was taken to hospital for further treatment and care. 

Later on Saturday afternoon the Big Bay Surf Lifesaving Club reported that a local man who was out on an open water swim had sustained a small seal bite. 

When the man returned to the beach he was advised to clean the wound and go to a hospital to get the bite properly evaluated and checked. The relevant authorities were all notified of the attack. 

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