Wed, Sep 27, 2006
Air Force And Coast Guard Can't Land On Their Own Beaches
Rescue helicopters are
banned from landing at fishing harbors along South
Africa's southern coast... and if they try it, the pilots will
be arrested and their aircraft confiscated.
The South African Department of Environment's Marine and Coastal
Management (MCM) banned the rescue helicopters and for months, the
South African equivalent of the Coast Guard, the National Sea
Rescue Institute (NSRI) has been trying to find out why. NSRI
officials have described the ban as "crazy" They say it would have
"dire consequences" for sea rescue operations. The Department of
Transport's Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Center has also condemned
the ban.
Brad Geyser is the NSRI station commander at Hout Bay. He said
he had tried find out why the new rule had been made, but the MCM
official, Dennis Marinus, has simply ignored all questions. "This
is crazy. What happens when there is an emergency at sea and a
helicopter needs to land at Hout Bay?" Geyser said to the Cape
Times of Capetown, the nearest large city.
"It's obvious that this kind of training is crucial. How can we
go out to rescue people at sea, which could involve airlifting them
to safety, without proper training?" Geyser continued.
During one of his training sessions with the South African Air
Force (SAAF), Geyser said "the official [from MCM] was shouting
over the phone that if we didn't leave now he would arrest the SAAF
pilots and confiscate their helicopters," Geyser said.
The MCM has remained silent about its reasoning for the
helicopter ban, other than to reiterate that no choppers are
allowed.
The South African Air Force -- which besides helicopters,
also has guns and missiles -- has so far steered clear of the
controversy between the two agencies.
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