When disaster strikes, some run away. Others run toward the danger.
SA Rescue: Out Alive is an East Coast Radio podcast hosted by Newswatch anchors Natarah Nadesan and Dineo Mphahlele. Each episode takes you inside a real South African rescue, told through the voices of first responders, survivors and experts who know the stories best.
From mountain storms to river floods and high-risk urban rescues, these are the moments when seconds mattered, and courage made the difference.
Produced by ECR Newswatch, the trusted voice of KwaZulu-Natal.
Show Credits:
Created, written and researched by: Natarah Nadesan and Dineo Mphahlele
Narration: Natarah Nadesan and Dineo Mphahlele
Production engineer: Nhlakanipho Ndlovu
Production assistant: Ntsikelelo Khanyile
Podcast imaging and promos: Willem van Biljon
Artwork design: Njabulo Nduzi
Executive producer: Diane Macpherson
Two young adventurers set out to abseil Tugela Falls in the Northern Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal as part of a source-to-sea expedition. It's a descent that only a handful of people have completed. But when their attempt went wrong in February 2024, the pair found themselves stranded for two nights on one of the world’s tallest waterfalls, exhausted and running out of options. As conditions became more dangerous, they made the call for help.
This episode brings you a survivor’s account and follows the volunteer rescuers from the Mountain Club of South Africa who responded to the distress call and made their way into the Drakensberg to bring the pair to safety.
* SA Rescue: Out Alive is researched, written and narrated by East Coast Radio Newswatch journalists Natarah Nadesan and Dineo Mphahlele, and produced by the East Coast Radio team.
This episode honours the volunteer rescuers of the Mountain Club of South Africa, who respond when lives hang in the balance in remote and challenging terrain.
This is the final episode of Season 1 of SA Rescue: Out Alive.
6 May 2026
The night the river rose in Durban: The Padavatan Six rescue
Rain had been falling for days when the Umgeni River burst through Tin Town, a Durban settlement home to hundreds of former indentured labourers.
Families were trapped as floodwaters tore through the community. Then a group of civilian volunteers stepped into the raging river to help save those caught in the disaster.
This historical rescue is told through the work of local author and filmmaker Viroshen Chetty, who co-authored 'Legends of the Tide' with the late Dr Neelan Govender.
This episode traces the story of the expert seine-netters whose skills, courage and deep connection to Durban’s fishing culture helped shape one of the city’s most remarkable rescue stories.
This episode honours the Padavatan Six and the civilian volunteers who risked their lives to save others during the 1917 Durban floods.
14 Apr 2026
A race against the flames: Wildfire rescues in Zululand
In the winter of 2007, one of KwaZulu-Natal’s worst fire seasons swept through parts of the province, with wildfires tearing through land in the Zululand District.
As firefighting teams on the ground and in the air moved in to contain the flames, they were forced to respond to another urgent situation.
This episode captures the coordination, pressure and split-second decisions involved in wildfire response, and the reality of working in conditions that can shift without warning.
SA Rescue: Out Alive is researched, written and narrated by East Coast Radio Newswatch journalists Natarah Nadesan and Dineo Mphahlele, and produced by the East Coast Radio team.
This episode honours the firefighters, pilots and ground crews, supported by organisations like the KZN Fire Protection Association, who work together to protect lives, land and communities.
New episodes release every second Wednesday.
25 Mar 2026
Guardians of the sea: The rescues that test Durban’s lifeguards
A packed beach. A sudden rip current. And in seconds, dozens of people are in trouble.
In this episode of SA Rescue: Out Alive, two Durban lifeguards take you inside the moments that change everything.
Sisanda Mvuyana relives a mass rescue at North Beach in December 2022, when a powerful current swept bathers out to sea and more than 20 rescuers raced to pull people back.
Jabulile Ndlovu shares the intensity of her first real rescue, battling a strong rip current while trying to keep a panicking swimmer alive.
These are the decisions that happen in seconds. The moments where training, instinct and courage collide.
Both women are part of Lifesaving South Africa, the organisation behind the country’s network of trained lifesavers working to prevent drownings and protect beachgoers.
This episode is a powerful reminder of the ocean’s unpredictability, and the people who run toward danger when everyone else is trying to escape it.
*** This episode is dedicated to Lifesaving South Africa and the thousands of volunteer lifesavers who give their time to protect others. Their work is measured in seconds, in decisions under pressure, and in lives that continue because they were there.
11 Mar 2026
Hanging in the balance: Durban’s Connaught Bridge rescue
A fisherman paddling along the Umgeni River hears desperate shouting.
The voice isn’t coming from the water or the riverbank. It’s coming from high above, on the girders of Durban’s Connaught Bridge, where a man has somehow become trapped.
With the man stranded near the middle of a pillar and no easy way to reach him, rescuers are forced into a complex recovery operation.
This episode tells the story of the dramatic Connaught Bridge rescue in 2017.
* Note: This episode is dedicated to rescue officer Paul Herbst who passed away in 2023, and is remembered for his dedication to helping others.
25 Feb 2026
The long bolt to freedom: The Swinburne mountain rescue
Two climbers were on the summit of a mountain near the KwaZulu-Natal border when a violent storm rolled in. Their ropes jammed 30 metres into their descent. Temperatures dropped. And getting down became far more dangerous than getting up.
As darkness closed in, they were left stranded high on the rock face, with no clear way to safety.
* SA Rescue: Out Alive is researched, written and narrated by East Coast Radio Newswatch journalists Natarah Nadesan and Dineo Mphahlele, and produced by the East Coast Radio team.
This episode honours the volunteer rescuers of the Mountain Club of South Africa, who respond when lives hang in the balance.
New episodes release every second Wednesday.
9 Feb 2026
SA Rescue: Out Alive | Launching 25 February, 2026
You may remember the headlines.
You may not know what really happened.
SA Rescue: Out Alive, hosted by Newswatch anchors Natarah Nadesan and Dineo Mphahlele, revisits real South African rescues and tells the story in full. Through interviews, research and sound design, each episode brings you closer to the people who were there.
Season 1 launches 25 February 2026. Follow now.
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