Durban Beach Rescue

Follow the South African lifeguards as they watch over festive holidaymakers on Durban's beaches. With unpredictable conditions, the lifeguards have zero tolerance for fools, particularly anyone who chooses to swim outside the demarcated area.

South Africa's high school graduates or 'ragers' go to Umhlanga Beach after partying, but this beach is plagued with hidden rocks and strong rips. The team act quickly when a man is washed up on the shore with a suspected spinal injury.

The Wedge is the most dangerous beach on Durban's shoreline, with an unstable sand bank. Yet this doesn't deter the thousands of bathers who flock here, many of whom are unable to swim, leaving the team on high alert.

The Day of Reconciliation, the first public holiday of summer, sees crowds of 150,000 holidaymakers on the beach. The Wedge team rescue a bather, deal with a case of alleged sexual harassment and take care of an unconscious woman.

Tragedy unfolds at Westbrook Beach when lifeguards are unable to locate a man last seen at 3am. The team open a missing person's case, undertaking land and sea patrols. If he is not found in three days, he will be deemed lost at sea.

There's mass panic at Bay of Plenty as an underwater attack breaks the festive mood and five bathers are bitten by an unidentified sea creature. Speculation is rife, could Durban's 60 year spell without a shark attack have ended?

The fun and festivity of Christmas Day is put on hold when a mass blue bottle attack clears Battery Beach. The team help a woman who has had an epileptic fit, catch a thief red handed, and try to reunite a three-year-old with his parents.

There's panic at The Wedge when a flash rip sweeps 150 bathers off the sand bank and into deep treacherous water. Most of the bathers can't swim. This is a lifeguard's worst nightmare, and the odds are stacked against them.

A lifeguard-in-training faces her demons - a fear of big waves; three Korean tourists lose control of their canoe and drift out to sea near the shark nets; and a surfer and lifeguard struggle to rescue a five-year-old girl.

Happy New year! It's the busiest day of the year and the crowds arrive in droves. The lifeguards are ready for anything, including a bather with a dislocated limb, someone suffering with a severe allergic reaction and some unruly bathers.