Multi-agency operation underway for teenager missing in Mdumbi, Eastern Cape

The search for a 13-year-old boy who went missing in the surf zone at Mdumbi, Eastern Cape, remains ongoing.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Mdumbi crew responded to reports of a drowning in progress at Hole-in-the-Wall Beach on Tuesday. Despite an extensive search of both the sea and the shoreline, the teenager has not yet been located.

NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon confirmed that a multi-agency team is involved in the operation, with aerial support being deployed periodically to assist searchers on the ground.

"Police divers (WPDS - Water Policing and Diving Services), Police K9 Search and Rescue and, at times, a Police helicopter, assisted by EC Government Health EMS and by NSRI Mdumbi, are continuing in ongoing search efforts for the missing teenager," said Lambinon.