UK golf star Charlotte Austwick is recovering in a KwaZulu-Natal hospital after she and two others nearly drowned during a night swim on the south coast on Monday.
Image: @Caustwick via Twitter
Austwick is in the country for the SA Sunshine Ladies Tour at the San Lameer Country Club.
27-year-old Austwick, a fellow golfer from Norway and a SA caddy, got into difficulty after they were swept offshore by a rip tide off Marina Beach, close to the country club.
The trio survived their ordeal thanks to diners and the manager of the nearby Mariners Seafood Restaurant, who heard their pleas for help.
“It was a traumatic event. We are just glad that a tragedy was averted,” said Bruce Simpson, Mariners’ manager.
John Nicholas, the station commander of the National Sea Rescue Institute in Port Edward, said his crew on duty at the time had received reports from a trainee crew member that three people were in trouble in the surf at Marina Beach.
Simpson, who was on the scene, told TimesLIVE that rescue buoys and a surfboard were used to bring the struggling swimmers to safety.
