# Three crew members recovered after an incident off Mossel Bay

> South Africa’s transport department said three people had died and two remained missing after a September 30 maritime emergency off Mossel Bay.

- Canonical URL: https://newsverum.com/en/news/south-africa-mossel-bay-rescue-recovery-oct-2026
- Publisher: Newsverum
- Section: Security
- Country: South Africa
- Published: 2026-10-04T14:04:24+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-07T05:58:42+03:00
- Event / data period: 2026-09-30
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South Africa’s Department of Transport issued an October 4 update on a September 30 incident involving the emergency towing vessel uMkhuseli off Mossel Bay. It said the vessel experienced a man-overboard emergency about 40 nautical miles offshore in bad weather, and a fast rescue boat sent to assist later capsized in rough seas.

Three bodies had been recovered and two people remained missing. The report refers to different vessel crews and does not fully reconcile how the four-person rescue-boat crew relates to the total of three recovered and two missing. The figures are reported as stated without inferring a final combined headcount. Search resumed after a weather-related pause, and the maritime authority said it would begin a preliminary investigation. No final cause was established.

## Data

### Counts in the Mossel Bay rescue update

South African Department of Transport update dated October 4.

Methodology: The source describes crews on different vessels without fully reconciling the counts; no aggregate headcount or cause is inferred.

| label | value | unit | period | basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People reported recovered deceased | 3 | count | 2026-10-04 | observed |
| People still reported missing | 2 | count | 2026-10-04 | observed |
| Crew aboard the capsized fast rescue boat | 4 | count | 2026-09-30 | observed |

Sources: <https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/three-bodies-recovered-after-maritime-incident-mossel-bay> · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/south-africa-mossel-bay-rescue-recovery-oct-2026/data/mossel-bay-search-status?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/south-africa-mossel-bay-rescue-recovery-oct-2026/data/mossel-bay-search-status?lang=en&format=csv)

## Sources

- [SAnews (Government Communication and Information System; quoting Department of Transport)](<https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/three-bodies-recovered-after-maritime-incident-mossel-bay>) (Source checked: 2026-10-04; Published: 2026-10-04)

## Correction history

- 2026-10-07T00:53:25+03:00: German and Portuguese editions and translations of the data and correction explanations have been added to this article.
- 2026-10-07T05:58:42+03:00: Data classification corrected: measure identifiers and types now follow the dataset rules. No figure, unit or date changed.

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